ELLENBROOK Secondary College will be competing in a national trade skills and vocational education showcase in Brisbane from June 12-14.

With nine vocational education and training in schools  (VETiS) competitors this year, Ellenbrook Secondary College (ESC) will have the biggest contingent of the 30 VETiS competitors that form TeamWA.

The ESC VETiS representatives are Archie Babich competing in the automotive category, Noah Babich, Brooke Elmer and Kayla Vanos in tourism, Connor Clarke in wall and floor tiling, Kye Clarke and Christian Lehman in carpentry, with Kashvi Panchal and Hope Paito in business services.

They will be completing challenges in their area of study in front of an audience at the Brisbane Convention Centre, providing a test of their skills in a simulated real-world environment.

The VETiS space gives students a chance to shine outside of the ATAR pathways and provides employment opportunities by connecting with industry through events such as WorldSkills.

ESC vocational education and training head of learning area Barbara Woulfe said a previous student stood out as a success story after turning a new leaf in life through VETiS.

“We had an Indigenous student, one of our first Indigenous students that wasn’t on a very good pathway, and we managed to turn him around for building construction,” she said.

“He was a tiler who went to a regional competition, won gold at the regional, then went to nationals, won gold at nationals and now has a very strong partnership with a very large tiling company.”

Former ESC VETiS student and WorldSkills national champion Mervyn Abraham won gold in the 2023 wall and floor tiling category as reported in Gold for Ellenbrook Secondary students in WorldSkills competition (Echo News, September 1, 2023).

Mr Abraham was going through a tough time during his final year, and his school attendance was low at the time but with the encouragement and support of family, friends, and ESC staff he felt an urge to do better.

“At that time, while I was going to school, I was going through something that I’d never gone through,” Mr Abraham said.

“I kind of just slipped away and hanged around people that were not good for me and didn’t really see what was going on and what I was like because I was smoking weed for the first time and I’ve never done it before, so I was doing it pretty bad.

“I didn’t have (that many) people (who knew because) I didn’t really like sharing it at the time – it was hidden away.

“It kind of made me lazy and it made me doze off and slip away.

“That’s when I had to stop because I realised what I was actually doing and what was happening to me.

“I’ve always been in school, going to school and all that, so it was kind of different for me because I was avoiding school and I was just going down a path.

“I know I had to make a choice, and I had to make a decision and I just stuck to it.

“I wanted the best for myself and, especially the people around me that were showing me and wanting the best for me – that helped a lot as well.

“I had to pull my head back in.”

Former TAFE lecturer Ron Simeon was Mr Abraham’s wall and floor tiling lecturer and recalled the day the student’s strength became apparent.

Mr Simeon was teaching a tiling class when he complimented Mr Abraham’s work for his improvement since the previous week’s lesson, only to be informed that the student was absent.

“I said, ‘Mate, you’ve improved so much since last week – that’s bloody good, I’m loving that,’ and he goes, ‘I wasn’t here’,” Mr Simeon said.

“I went, ‘So that’s your first attempt?’ and he said yes and I said, ‘That’s it, you’re in WorldSkills’.

“He said, ‘Ronnie, if you’re in it, I’m in it – I won’t let you down’.

“He attended every one of my classes from that time on and he never missed a day.”