Free TAFE courses supporting demand for bread and meat
With large demand for baked goods and meat during the COVID-19 pandemic, students are taking advantage of the opportunity to upskill with Free TAFE courses at William Angliss Institute.
Fresh retail meat sales - both physical and online grocery sales - have grown, with online grocery sales growing by 65% in the four weeks to end of February 2020. Butchers have also gained share over this period, reaching close to the share of sales experienced at Christmas time during March (Nielsen Homescan).
Similarly it turns out Australian consumers are keeping local bakeries much busier than usual with regular block loaves and sourdough loaves often selling out .
William Angliss Institute is offering Free TAFE courses including a Certificate II in Retail Baking and Certificate II in Meat Processing (Food Services) to provide upskilling and training for future generations of workers.
Free TAFE for priority courses reduces the financial barrier for students wanting to train in courses that lead to jobs in demand from Victorian employers.
The investment of $172 million by the Victorian Government makes priority TAFE courses and pre-apprenticeship courses in priority workforce area tuition-free.
Chef Mitchell Velo, who completed his training as a chef at William Angliss Institute in 2014, is following up with some new industry skills with a Certificate II in Meat Processing (Food Services) qualification.
Mitchell hopes to build on his career with a view to one day opening his own restaurant, focusing on charcuterie and nose-to-tail dining.
He has started his traineeship at Meatsmith with one day on-site training at Angliss for the six-month duration of his course.
Meanwhile, Certificate II in Retail Baking student James Choi said he had fallen in love with baking from his first class.
"I felt that I have found myself confident in my training so far, and I am sure that it will change my life in many ways towards my career. I am proud that I joined the Free TAFE course – I am optimistic about my future and finding a job after this," James said.
