Jake's Success Story

Coburg Senior High School student, Jake, had the opportunity to do a School-based Traineeship in Certificate III in Laboratory Skills. For 18 months he spent one day a week at Bio 21 – a laboratory in the Biochemistry Institute at The University of Melbourne.

'I enjoyed learning about methods used in a lab like Bio 21 and getting a general feel for the field,' he says. The work at Bio 21 focuses on structural biology, chemical biology and nanobiotechnology. Among other projects, the technicians were working on preventative cures for Parkinson's disease and HIV/AIDS. Jake regularly ran standard tests on insect cells, checked the results and came to understand how these tests contributed to the overall work of the lab.

Not only was his traineeship enjoyable and a good learning experience, it also contributed towards his final VCE results. Jake has no hesitation in recommending to future students that they explore an area of work that interests them while still completing the final years of school – by doing an apprenticeship or traineeship.

'A traineeship is a good way to get some sort of bearing on what a future career would look like,' he says. 'You find out how things happen in the workplace, so you're not just going on hearsay.'

The other tip that Jake has for VCE students is to prepare well for coursework and exams. He also went to a couple of intensive study days which really helped him.

Having studied sciences for VCE, Jake is now enrolled in the Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree at La Trobe University. He is glad that he gained such a lot of workplace experience in the field before starting his tertiary studies. The degree course will prepare him for further work in scientific research.