Couch potatoes get cooking

By Alison Noonan
A NEW joint venture between two Cranbourne schools is helping to get young people off the couch and into the kitchen.
William Angliss TAFE Cranbourne, in conjunction with Cranbourne Secondary College, is offering the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) program to young people aged 15 to 19.
Community VCAL coordinator Brad Harris said the program targeted early school leavers or those not coping with mainstream schooling to provide them with qualified hospitality skills to enter the workforce or further training.
“This is TAFE training that will give participants hospitality skills such as food and beverage serving and cookery, as well as a focus on personal development.
“It is a holistic and flexible program with no exams and a lot of hands-on student involvement.
“The students go out on work placement and make some great contacts around the area,” he said.
Mr Harris said this was the first time the program had been offered at Cranbourne and encouraged young people to sign up.
“It is not a high school environment. You don’t have to be academic and you don’t have to sit through class.
“It is an interesting course that will multi-skill participants to leave them a lot more employable at the end.
“There is a dire need for this sort of program out here and we are pretty excited to get the course up and running,” he said.
The 34-week course will be run four days a week at Cranbourne’s William Angliss Institute of TAFE, Berwick-Cranbourne Road, Cranbourne.
The $400 flat fee includes uniforms, new knife kit and educational material. Positions are still available.
For more information on the new VCAL Hospitality Program contact Brad Harris on 5991 1116 or 0417 100 758.