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From IT Trainee to Centre Manager

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Elisa Santina’s South Regional TAFE traineeship has taken her on a journey from trainee to centre manager at a Community Resource Centre (CRC).  

Elisa moved to Australia from Italy and decided to make a life for herself in the regional area of Yongernow-Ongernup, about two hours north east of Albany. 

She came to Australia as part of an exchange program in 2012, needing a change from living in a big city. 

Elisa decided to complete a Certificate II in Information Digital Media and Technology as she had always been fascinated by IT and wanted to find out more about how it all worked. 

“I’m not from Australia so I had no recognised degree or qualifications in this country. I decided a traineeship would be a good way for me to get some recognised qualifications in Australia.” 

A traineeship provides employers with an opportunity to train their staff on the job. The trainee can earn a wage while they learn and finish their traineeship with a nationally recognised qualification. 

English is Elisa’s second language so the traineeship at the Yongernow-Ongernup CRC helped give her the confidence and skills she needed with written English communications in the workplace. 

Elisa said her workplace was very flexible and supportive which helped her develop her skills as she was able to take on a variety of IT work. 

“It was my first office-based job in Australia, so the on-the-job training provided through the traineeship suited me,” Elisa said.  

“I thoroughly enjoyed the traineeship as I was able to experiment in IT and find out what worked. 

“My work varies from networking to IT, social media and website development. 

“Ramin was a very good assessor,” Elisa said, of her SR TAFE trainer and assessor, “I always felt supported and well looked-after.” 

While Elisa was working as a trainee, she worked very closely with the centre manager. When the manager left the role Elisa was able to step up because of her traineeship experience. 

Photo: Elisa Santina loves her lifestyle in the Yongernow-Ongernup region and her role at the Community Resource Centre.

Find out more about traineeships at South Regional TAFE  or learn more about our IT courses.