Trades and Training

Firstly, I would like to congratulate the Year 12 students on their successful journey through school. Our recent Awards Ceremony was a fantastic event with many students recognised for their efforts and achievements. Overall, we have had a successful year and the students leaving in 2023 appear to be well prepared for the next steps they take. Well done to all. Any students requiring references for employment should contact us directly, we are happy to support you as much as we can.

As the year ends, we are able to take a look at the courses and results for the year, examine what went well and areas we need to work on. We have some ideas for improvement, but as always, please let us know your thoughts and feedback on how we can better prepare students for their future endeavours. It’s essential that we get feedback, especially from employers. This all helps to build our programs and facilities further.

We are hopeful that we can extend our Trades and Training area to incorporate more equipment and skills development opportunities, our bee and forestry options will have more permanent skills areas in the modern shed behind the workshop area. For forestry, this will bring them back into the school area rather than being out on the farm, saving time and energy transporting people and equipment every day.

Autos

With the new AUR20720 Automotive Vocational Preparation Certificate now in full swing, Mr Kemp is researching new options for learning resources. It is an important process to enable a balance of theory and practical experiences and assessments.

Bees

Mrs Dufall has continued to work on making improvements to the bee enterprise, the purchase of new queens for many of our colonies has taken place and these will further support our attempts to have super productive and calm bees. This year the bee areas have really been refreshed with new enthusiasm and progress, hives are in excellent condition and honey is plentiful.

I would like to congratulate Mrs Dufall on a successful first year at the college and am really looking forward to seeing this area continue to do well in student outcomes as well as productivity.

Design and Technology

Planning is underway for the development of new and exciting projects in D&T. In previous years we have had some crossover between D&T and Cert II Engineering Pathways. 2024 will see that change and the D&T program become more specialist, using more technology and specific projects to better suit the course and the students.

Engineering

Projects completed in 2023 have been impressive! Many students under the guidance of Mr Toon and Mr Hamilton have excelled and we are seeing a focus on quality and innovation, a really great thing to see! This year we have had a focus on developing our aluminium fabrication capacity, projects in Aluminium are now much more achievable for our students. Investment in equipment and training has enabled big leaps in our push to meet industry requirements.

This term the School Board approved the implementation of the Engineering Projects Policy. The school felt that this policy was necessary to ensure full understanding of the Engineering Projects process. You may or may not be aware that we are very fortunate to have facilities and trainers who are able to support project builds that far exceed the Certificate II level requirements. Please have a look via the link below.

https://www.denmarkag.wa.edu.au/policies-information-and-forms

In short, the policy lays out the processes needed for successful project completion and details the responsibilities of the students and trainers. Clear planning, accurate costing and honest evaluations are all part of the required process. The students must make decisions for their project with guidance from families and trainers and ensure it is within their budget and abilities.

Importantly the process for payment of projects is also covered. Once the student has planned and costed their project and it has been approved by trainers and families then a 50% payment of the total costs is required before materials will be ordered.

Construction of Trailers – Be aware of the new registration laws in effect from July 1st, 2023.

All Trailers planned for use on the road MUST meet, the Road Vehicle Standards (RVS) legislation requirements and Australian Design Rules (ADR). As a training organisation we are unable to offer advice on the requirements for this and you should view information on the websites below:

https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/

https://www.transport.wa.gov.au/

Equine

Miss Pagan has now completed a year with WA College of Agriculture – Denmark and it’s been quite a year! Lots of learning for all. Lots of great events and impressive student achievements! Well done! It was clear that the students involved in Year 12 Equine this year have really benefitted from the training and were sad to be leaving the program behind.

Plans are in place for improvements here too, improved land drainage and facilities are in process and we will see these in action next year.

Please note: We do have a Horse Float for loading and unloading training, also transport of College horses. This is not available for private hire.

Forestry

In a move to support the time and efforts of Mr Adams and Mr Spencer, we are creating a training space close to the Trade Training Centre. This will enable students to have increased training time due to the reduction of travel time in sessions. This training space will enable students to work on chainsaw techniques and maintenance tasks in a cleaner and more purposeful environment.

The Forestry program is as popular as ever and I think the dedication and personalities of the training staff here really support this continued success. Forestry is an industry that requires new entrants and skilled young people.

If you have any comments or contribution to offer our Trades and Training Department, please get in touch and let us know…

Trades and Training Staff:

Automotive – Mr Kemp

Bees – Mrs Dufall

Design & Technology – Mr Toon

Engineering (Metals) – Mr Hamilton

Equine – Miss Pagan

Forestry – Mr Adams/Mr Spencer

Mark Boynton

Program Coordinator – Trades and Training

WACOA - Denmark

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Excellence and Innovation in Agricultural Education

Issue 8 · 14 Dec 2023

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