Launceston’s Tanya Hussey literally walked away from her last job.
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The former hotel director of sales opened Walk Cataract Gorge in January, thanks to a guiding course undertaken at Launceston’s TasTAFE.
She shares her story as part of The Examiner’s Pick up the Tools campaign.
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Ms Hussey has undertaken her Certificate III in Guiding through TasTAFE and says she chose the public training provider because of her strong connection to community.
“I wanted to feel though I was making a positive impact on my community,” she said.
She said she valued the course because of the practical experience she got from it and from her teachers.
“I’m capable in many ways, I’m a knowledgeable person in tourism but the course taught me that to be a guide it doesn’t matter if you are a professional,” she said.
Ms Hussey said she looked at training through another private registered training organisation in Hobart before settling on TasTAFE but thought she would connect better with face-to-face training and wanted to support her local education provider.
Education in all its forms should be encouraged, Ms Hussey said, but her experience showed you could gain meaningful employment with vocational education and training.
You have to walk the walk...and I had a mantra that I wanted to do more good in my local community.
- Tanya Hussey
“I don’t believe university is right for everyone...some people are better at doing than other academia,” she said.
“I support the concept of having all children complete year 12, Australia as a whole has to work harder [on education outcomes],” she said.
Ms Hussey said the course at TasTAFE was delivered in a “fun and engaging way” and helped her to connect with her community and get her business off the ground.
She said the support of TasTAFE and the tourism industry had been “outstanding.”
The Examiner’s Pick Up the Tools campaign aims to shed light on vocational education in Tasmania and call for clear and concise funding and policy management.
It also aims to share success stories from the sector and change community perception of trades as a career pathway for young people.
The campaign will run for a month until May 8.