Solid framework for students to build on

A house frame is not the first thing you would expect to see when you enter a classroom but for telecommunication students at Karratha Senior High School, it has become their reality.

In partnership with trainers Integracom, KSHS offers 18 students each year the chance to gain their Certificate II in Telecommunications.

The house frame allows students the opportunity to gain practical experience in the subject.

Chris Thorn chose the subject because it is a part of the navy job he plans to apply for after school.

“The class gives me an idea of what I’ll be dealing with on the navy ships,” he said.

Travis Burton has always enjoyed fiddling around with electronics and hopes completing the certificate will help him gain an apprenticeship.

Jack Shepherd said it was a good opportunity to have another skill under his belt.

“It gives me another option after school,” he said.

The three boys enjoy the hands-on aspect of the class. Principal Greg Kelly said the partnership with Integracom was an important one because it was sustainable within the school and built on other classes offered.

Integracom project manager Alun Jones visits the school for two weeks each term to train students and said the program had proved a great success so far.

“A lot of this training is on the back of the National Broadband Network rollout,” he said.

“There is a shortage in the industry of technicians so we are up here training as many as we can to get them ready for the job.

“We had 106 out of 112 actually pass the course last year … everyone who wanted a job last year (in the industry) ended up with one.”