Josh Farnbarch - VCAL, Maths Teacher
For Chisholm Berwick Technical Education Centre (TEC) maths trainer Josh Farnbach, attitude is everything, and with the right one, he believes his students can achieve anything.
Josh has made a living out of motivating his Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) students, focusing on using more innovative and creative ways of training and applying it in a trade or vocational specific situation.
Josh also tells his students that potential employers are not only concerned about whether they have the right skills to do a job, but the right attitude as well. As a result, he says his greatest sense of satisfaction comes from watching his students grow as individuals and as learners.
"What we think, we become," he said, "a lot of students feel they are no good at maths and you see them avoid trying because of past failures. Watching them overcome this insecurity and begin to believe in their abilities is great to see," Josh said.
Carrie Tufuga - Children's Services Teacher
TEC Children's Services trainer Carrie Tufuga says the highlight of her day is looking for positive ways of meeting her students' learning aspirations.
With over 22 years experience as a child care worker and eight as a skilled trainer, two of those with the TEC, Carrie says the secret to her meeting these needs is giving her Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) students a positive outlook on learning and helping them to develop networks into industry.
"My VCAL students gain child care skills but they'll also undertake literacy and numeracy projects which are relevant to this vocational study area," she explains. "The key to motivating them is a positive attitude and a positive outlook – letting them know that whatever they put their mind to, they can achieve."
