JAKE Geltch’s obsession with computers was forged early.
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At just five years old – and still in his kindergarten year – the Leeton boy’s parents gifted him a second-hand PC to “play around with”.
An intense love affair was born.
“I just needed to see how it worked and I used to break it all the time, much to the frustration of my parents,” Jake said.
“Eventually, they got so sick of paying to repair it, I started fixing it myself.”
Jake’s search for answers in circuit boards and disk drives grew as he finished primary school and entered high school.
Tertiary study in IT beckoned.
“I got the marks to go straight to a bachelor degree at uni,” Jake said.
“But the more I looked into it, the more I knew TAFE was the logical choice for me.
“I craved that hands-on experience and it was also a more affordable way to study.”
His appetite for learning at TAFE NSW’s Wagga Campus was insatiable.
He completed a Certificate III and IV in quick time, before embarking on a Diploma and an Advanced Diploma in IT Networking.
As part of TAFE NSW’s unique IT Pathways Program with Charles Sturt University, Jake will next year graduate with a Bachelor of IT Networking.
The fully integrated program enables students to get credit towards a degree for their TAFE NSW studies.
And the program has been a stunning success: every single student has landed a job in IT within months of graduating.
The program is so respected in the industry, many receive job offers while still studying.
“At uni, most of the stuff you work on is theoretical but TAFE is so practical,” Mr Geltch said.
“We’re putting the designs into practice – we build the hardware, rather than just focus on how you build it.
“A lot of people learn better that way. I certainly did.”
In December, Jake was rewarded for his commitment by winning the TAFE NSW Wagga Student of the Year.
Tom Gibson from Wagga’s Computer Dencity is a former TAFE NSW IT graduate and the business has continued to hire TAFE NSW graduates.
“One of the key things we look for when hiring is that they’ve been to TAFE,” Mr Gibson said.
“We know the quality of the graduates and we know the practical hands-on experience they’ve had.
“It’s a lot easier for us to transition them into technical roles than it is with uni graduates because they have that base knowledge.”
For more information on courses for semester one next year visit www.tafensw.edu.au or call 131 601.
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