STUDENTS unsure of what to do after finishing secondary school will have a wealth of information at their fingertips at the annual Western Riverina Careers Expo.
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Leeton High School is playing host to the information event on Tuesday, June 18, from 9.30am to 1.30pm.
For over a decade the expo has brought together a range of providers in one place to help students make decisions about their future. It is the only event of its kind in the western Riverina, with an event in Wagga in the same week catering to schools in the eastern side of the region.
Exhibitors will fill the school MPC and spill out into a marquee and the forecourt.
Schools from across a wide area of the Riverina - from Hay To Hillston, Tullibigeal to West Wyalong, as well as Leeton and Griffith - will attend the day with about 1000 students expected to benefit.
Leeton High School careers advisor and expo co-ordinator Nadine Goring said the event is now well-known enough to attract plenty of interest from schools across the region.
"We have a good connection with the Western Riverina Careers Advisor Network so we are able to keep in touch with those schools," she said.
The day targets year 10, 11 and 12 students, who benefits by having so many career options under one roof in a regional area.
"They get access to universities, if that is what they aspire to, that they wouldn't normally get," Mrs Goring said. "They also get contact with a lot of local businesses. It broadens their ideas and offers them the different pathways available."
There will be displays from tertiary institutions, including universities and TAFE, large regional employers, businesses, organisations and trades, and the defence forces.
"We have a big range of universities, for example the University of Tasmania is coming," Mrs Goring said. There are NSW and ACT universities, and Deakin University, so we get Victrian unis as well. There are a lot of support services, such as apprenticeship support and employment agencies.
"There is a huge TAFE exhibit taking up the marquee. Defence Force Recruiting and the Australian Defence Force Academy will be there."
The Country University Centre, a new service providing university facilities to regional students unable to move away to attend university, will attend, while CSU will bring its broadcast truck and University of Wollongong its STEM trailer.
"There'll be some medical tertiary organisations, which has been a request in the past," Mrs Goring said.
"We try to provide a big range, from medical to hospitality and creative arts.
"Depending on the aspirations of each student, there's something for everyone."
A practical approach to ag
Tocal College is renowned as a leader in practical training for the agriculture and horse industries.
It has two campuses: the CB Alexander Campus at Paterson, where full-time on-campus training is delivered, and the Yanco Campus in the Riverina.
School leavers and others interested in a career in general agriculture, stock horse breeding and training or agribusiness will receive a great head start by studying at Tocal College.
It is the only residential agricultural college in NSW and has large commercial farms at Paterson where students learn practical skills hands on.
Full-time study at Tocal involves practical training and case studies covering a wide range of topics.
Yanco Campus delivers a range of training options for rural industries, including hands-on practical skills training both onsite and on-farm, traineeships and the Aboriginal Rural Training Program.
Traineeship program
Rural traineeships are open to paid farm employees and the course leads to a nationally accredited Certificate II, II and IV in Agriculture.
Rural trainees may work in a variety of enterprises and during training develop many valuable farm skills.
Training is based on real farming situations and reinforced by practical activities on the college's farms, presentations from industry specialists and advisors and visits to leading farms and facilities.
On-the-job or work-based training will take place under the supervision of an experienced supervisor as students put into practice the knowledge they have learnt.
Farm-ready training
A quality training program has been developed by Tocal College in conjunction with NSW Department of Primary Industries to meet the needs of farmers, primary industries, agribusiness and the community.
Courses are delivered in the Riverina and on-farm, when suitable, to ensure the required skills meet the ever-changing needs and compliance requirements of today's farming and agribusiness sectors.
Many of these courses are subsidised.
Aboriginal Rural Training Program (ARTP)
The ARTP is now entering its 30th year of operation, developing and delivering specialised vocational training in agriculture, conservation and land management, cultural sites assessment and cultural awareness.
The training is delivered across NSW and is designed for Aboriginal business and community organisation members, school students, and people detained in correctional facilities and juvenile detainees.
The ARTP program also works in partnership with Local Land Services and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to deliver training.