Bunbury course boosts skills with records grads

A Bunbury PCYC course helping school-age students learn a range of practical and social skills to put them on a path towards the workforce celebrated record graduation numbers at a ceremony on Thursday.

Graduates of the Certificate I in Leadership course were joined by family members, teachers, support staff, police representatives and Bunbury MLA Don Punch to recognise their efforts during the 12-week course.

“We were really happy, we had a really good turnout and we had lots of support from the community,” course coordinator Amanda Ferguson said.

“The course is designed for disengaged youth, which includes anything from not attending school to not engaging while they’re at school or it can be things like medical issues or kids who have moved around to a lot of schools.

“We get referrals from the Education Department for alternate learning arrangements and we meet with the kids, make sure they are going to work together and then we can enrol them.”

Students completed vocational studies during the course, as well as learning about community engagement, workplace health and safety and designing and executing a project, which this year saw them build a nature playground outside the PCYC facility.

To complete their volunteering hours, students cleaned planes at the Bunbury Aero Club before enjoying a scenic flight over Bunbury. It was their first time in the air for many students, including Zoe Fallo who said it was an amazing experience.

“It was really cool because I got to see all of Bunbury and the surrounding area,” she said.

Zoe is planning on completing work experience through the gymnastics program and next year will attend Bunbury Regional Community College to study childcare.

“The course has been helpful in deciding what’s next for me,” she said.