A Taylor-made pathway!
We are proud to offer an opportunity for all our students to find the educational pathway that is right for them, be it ATAR or vocational education and training (VET).
In our VET program students can attempt a variety of qualifications as part of their upper school pathway, and in 2023 Carramar Year 12 student, Taylor Drummond, chose to pursue not one but two Certificate IV level qualifications.
Taylor explains, “I’ve now got a Cert IV in Business and a Cert IV in Education Support”.
“I always wanted to go to uni to do business and teaching, and our Careers Advisor, Mr Crewe told me about the VET pathway where I could go to TAFE on Fridays. He suggested that becoming a teacher’s assistant would give me a feel for what it’s like to be a teacher, while having some flexibility if I decided I didn’t want to go to university”, said Taylor.

“Now I’m hoping to go to Murdoch University where I can study to be a primary teacher but also a Physical Education teacher for primary and secondary. I did placement at a primary school and it really confirmed that this is what I want to do. All I need is my two Cert IV qualifications and to graduate high school”.
Completing two Certificate IV qualifications while completing Year 12 was not without its challenges, though!
“The Cert IV in Business was at school and the Education Support Cert IV was at TAFE on Fridays, so when I had my study periods at school, I really had to use that time to do TAFE work. I really needed to be disciplined and stay on top of things, especially when I was on placement.”
“Now when I plan out work I have really good habits from the TAFE work”, said Taylor.
The VET pathway is definitely one that Taylor would recommend to other students.
“It was good for me to know that I could still get into the course I want at uni without doing ATAR. My advice is to see what your options are with and without ATAR subjects, with help from your Careers Advisor”.
Congratulations to Taylor and all our VET students. We look forward to sharing stories in the future about how their careers progress.