Jake's Success Story

With his sights set on a career in landscaping, Jake chose to do Senior VCAL in Year 12 because it offered him an ideal pathway into his chosen industry.

'It was a good opportunity to see if I really liked the trade', he explains. 'VCAL is also a good way to do Year 12 so you can get into other courses at TAFE if you decide later on that that’s what you want to do'.

Through his VCAL program, Jake did VET training, completing Certificate II in Horticulture at Swinburne TAFE. He also got his foot in the door at a local landscaping business, securing himself a School Based Apprenticeship there. The skills and experience Jake gained in the process were invaluable.

‘I got my bobcat licence for driving heavy machinery. I learned about rockwork and constructing ponds and about plant identification and the types of habitats different species should be in. My boss often asked me to speak to clients so I became more independent and more confident too.'

Jake was able to apply many of his new skills and knowledge to school projects. 'I built a garden with two mates from my VCAL class. We worked on it every Tuesday for seven weeks. We built retaining walls and planters and we made garden beds and mulched and planted them.'

Jake is now doing a landscaping apprenticeship and Certificate III in Horticulture at Swinburne TAFE. He maintains VCAL put him ahead of the game. ‘By the time I got there I felt like I knew more than some of the others in the class.