An Emerald Beach man who is retraining to become a park ranger is among many enrolling in a TAFE NSW COVID-19 fee-free support course.
NSW Nationals Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said the Government had introduced 21 fee-free courses to allow communities to upskill during the pandemic.
Among those was Jackson Kemister, 26, who suffered a back injury last August and decided to enrol in a Statement of Attainment in Computer Skills as part of the popular TAFE NSW COVID-19 fee-free support courses.
He recently completed the course and has gone on to enrol in a Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management at TAFE NSW Coffs Harbour to pursue his ambition of becoming a park ranger.
Mr Singh applauded Jackson and said it was heartening to see him use this difficult period to upskill.
“It’s wonderful to see Jackson’s commitment to gaining the skills to achieve his career goal. It’s fantastic to see people in the Coffs Harbour area take advantage of these courses to help contribute to our community post-COVID-19,” Mr Singh said.
Jackson said the basic computing course gave him the skills and the confidence to continue studying and working towards his career goal.
“I hadn’t used computers much since leaving school eight years ago and I knew I needed to learn some new skills if I wanted to go into a different field,” he said.
“It was a great experience – the online material was so easy to navigate and if I ever needed help, I would email or call the teacher and they would respond straight away.”
To find out more about enrolling in a TAFE NSW COVID-19 fee-free support course, visit www.tafensw.edu.au/fee-free-short-courses or call 131 601.
