TAFE and local Community Services have an important working relationship. It provides learning, real life services and opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in society

After leaving Mudgee I made a brief stop at Dunedoo, about half an hour up the highway. With a population of less than 900, Dunedoo isn't even considered a town, but a village (at least, according to Wikipedia). The local TAFE campus is located in a small building and focu s es mainly on courses in Access, Agriculture, Business, Computing, Mining and Outreach work. Dunedoo TAFE was closed when I swung by, as it only opens when there are scheduled classes.

Dunedoo TAFE is a single classroom demountable next to the Central School. It only opens when classes are on, but is critical to the community! #tafewestern #taferoadtrip

A photo posted by tafensw (@tafensw) on Oct 10, 2014 at 7:01pm PDT

Back in the car after a quick rest stop (and the best cheese and bacon pie ever!), the next place on my list was Gilgandra TAFE. Well, actually, the first stop was the Gilgandra Art Exhibition in the local art gallery. 

The art exhibition was the project of a Gilgandra TAFE Community Services student Tanya Hutchison (who also happens to teach Digital Photography & Retail at TAFE). The exhibition showcased art works produced by residents of the local group homes, working in conjunction with the Orana Lifestyle Directions disability program.

TAFE and local Community Services have an important working relationship. It provides learning, real life services and opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in society.

Tanya was in the midst of her work placement, as part of her Certificate III Disability & Education Support qualification. She couldn't emphasise enough just how important practical training is for TAFE. Without this sort of training, students would obtain qualifications without actually knowing how to do the job they were trained for.

The time spent with Tanya and her group was incredible. Joyous actually. Or perhaps both, which you might say was "joydible". The Gilgandra TAFE Community Services program really is making a difference in people's lives, and I got to see it first hand.

Before leaving town, I did pop in to Gilgandra TAFE to check out the facilities. It's not a big place, as with most remote TAFE colleges, but they're well fitted out with the latest technology to make learning easier. 

 

Here's a little extra from Gilgandra TAFE yesterday. Despite all these TAFE colleges being quite remote, the facilities are second to none. And the connected classrooms are in constant use. TAFE Western are very much in touch with distance learning. #tafewestern #taferoadtrip

 

A photo posted by tafensw (@tafensw) on Oct 10, 2014 at 1:24pm PDT

As I  left Gilgarndra TAFE, I couldn't help noticing   the Aboriginal flag flying high outside the Gilgandra College. It seemed to be hinting at the purpose of my next destination – the Aboriginal Studies class at Coonamble TAFE.

Catch up on Episode 7 here