Having our first enrolled cohort of 20 students starting delivery of this course in the Wimmera this semester is an important milestone for Federation University as an educational provider, and also for me personally.
According to the Victorian Skills Authority, graduates in the education and training sector will continue to be in demand in the Wimmera and southern Mallee, with close to 200 new workers required by 2025.
Thanks to the support of the Victorian Government, we can now deliver our Bachelor of Education Studies course locally, which will significantly impact our region by bolstering our local teaching workforce.
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FIRST SEMESTER: Federation University Wimmera campus director Christine Brown, back left, with students, back, Amanda Baker and Shane Sullivan; and front, Lisa Barr, Tayla Fitzpatrick and Christine Hubbard at the campus’ TAFE Fest last week. Federation University invited students to explore support service stalls, enjoy a barbecue and socialise at a juggling workshop and tiny goats zone as they settle into their studies for 2024. Picture: ABBY WALTER
Many of our students are currently working in our regions’ schools as education support officers or in administrative roles.
Completing this course will take them to the next level of their careers and qualify them as primary or secondary teachers.
Combining face-to-face sessions at our Wimmera campus and regular remote catchup sessions using our ‘connected classrooms’ technology will give our students the flexibility to attend on-campus or online to fit in with their lives and other commitments.
Importantly, this means our students can study and upskill close to home as we will be taking away the barrier of distance to study.
After successfully completing the first year of the course, students will be eligible to transfer to the second year of Federation’s Bachelor of Education, Primary, or Bachelor of Secondary Education – which we hope to eventually offer from the Wimmera campus – to complete their teaching qualifications. The Bachelor of Education Studies is another way Federation is addressing workforce skills shortages, just as we are doing in other sectors such as nursing, early education and care, community services and trades.
Our students are already embedded within the Wimmera community, which means when they complete their studies, they are much more likely to stay in the region and teach in our local schools.
Bringing this project to fruition has been a major focus for me since starting as campus director and I am so excited to add higher education to our growing delivery in the Wimmera.
I’d like to acknowledge the support of the local principal’s network and schools, particularly Horsham College, as lead school in the Wimmera and South West area, on behalf of participating schools, the Victorian Department of Education and Training, and Federation’s own executive leadership team.
We all know how critical the education sector is and through this new offering, Federation hopes to support students to maintain ties to the Wimmera community as they pursue their dreams of becoming teachers of the future.
If you would like to register your interest in enrolling in a future intake of the Bachelor of Education Studies, please contact diracop.ieac@federation.edu.au.
The entire March 27, 2024 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
The entire March 27, 2024 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!
