ALMOST fourteen hundred Coffs Coast locals have taken up a fee-free JobTrainer course during the pandemic, Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh told News Of The Area.

The most popular courses to study for local residents were the Certificate III in Individual Support, Statement of Attainment in Construction and Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

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Moonee Beach young mum, Ayla McQuestin, signed up for the Certificate III in Early Childhood and is completing her TAFE Digital studies at TAFE CHEC.

Ayla is employed with Mullaway Childcare centre three days a week, which is also where her son attends day care.

The 23-year-old single mum has previously worked in hospitality jobs which have been unreliable.

After giving birth and becoming a stay-at-home mum for a year, Ayla is studying and keen to be back working now that her son is 18-months-old.

Motherhood sparked her interest in early childhood learning and growth, a career path that has the added benefit of her being able to be close to her young son.

Ayla told News Of The Area, “JobTrainer is so worthwhile and it has definitely helped me a lot.

“If it weren’t for JobTrainer I would be less inclined to study because I would be concerned about the financial pressure of not working full time, in addition to paying for fees.

“It was the key incentive for me to take the step and start studying.”

With NSW recording more than 100,000 JobTrainer enrolments since the jointly funded Federal and NSW Government program was announced in October 2020, the highest number of enrolments were from those in the 17-24 age group – 610 of whom are on the Coffs Coast.

Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee said, “These strong enrolment figures show how crucial reskilling and upskilling has been during this difficult period so the people of NSW can land on their feet after the COVID-19 pandemic.”

NSW JobTrainer courses are available for young people, job seekers and school leavers to gain vocational skills in Australia’s growing industries.

Visit: https://bit.ly/3wWI3pz.

By Andrea FERRARI