Women's programs and Community programs at Gymea

Sutherland Outreach operates women's programs and community programs on both the Gymea and Loftus campuses of Sutherland TAFE.

Outreach programs are designed to make TAFE education and training accessible to people who face barriers to learning. Barriers can include family commitments, lack of recent work or study, lack of educational confidence, being unaware of opportunities or having a disability.

Our programs are especially designed to meet the needs of each student group and can include study in many different industry areas.

Each program has an experienced Course Co-ordinator to support students while studying with Outreach. The Coordinator also helps students to choose appropriate further courses which meet their individual study and work goals.

Our Work Opportunities for Women (WOW) programs, run by our Outreach section, are especially designed to meet the needs of women seeking to re-enter work or training after a period of absence. They can include introductory level study in many different industry areas eg. tourism, events, hospitality, business administration, financial skills, computing.

Work Opportunities for Women (WOW) courses usually last for 17 weeks and start twice a year in February and July. WOW students graduate with a Certificate 2 in Skills for Work and Training.

WOW courses for 2012 Semester 2

Information sessions will be held in June 2012 with classes starting in the week beginning 16 July 2012.

Please see the individual flyers below for course and information session details:

• WOW Basic Computing for Employment
• WOW Introductory Skills for Working in Aged Care
• WOW Computing & Introduction to Bookkeeping using MYOB
• WOW Computing & Basic Financial Skills
• Outreach Programs 2012 booklet.

Sutherland Outreach runs general courses for people with barriers to learning in response to the needs of the community and the labour market. These courses are always at an introductory level and vary according to need.

In addition, Sutherland Outreach operates in partnership with local community groups to provide access to work and training for their clients. Courses can be specially designed to meet the particular needs of the client group and Community Workers are invited to discuss their needs with the Outreach Coordinator.

Outreach course information sessions

Outreach general courses start throughout the year and are usually just a few hours per week over 8 – 12 weeks. Information Session details are in the booklet , Outreach Programs 2012.

Further information

For further information about Outreach programs please contact the Sutherland Outreach Section on (02) 9710 5004.

Who can do a Women's Program or Community course?

Each course has slightly different selection criteria. These are explained in the course brochure. However, all of our courses are for people who have a barrier to learning and find it difficult to access mainstream courses.

How long are the courses?

Courses for women and the community, run by our Outreach section, are usually part-time and can vary from 2 – 3 hours per weeks to 10 hours per week or more. For details, see the course brochure.

What courses are currently available?

For details of current courses, please contact Sutherland Outreach Section on (02) 9710 5004 or or look at the booklet, Outreach Programs 2012.

Do the courses include work experience?

Work experience is sometimes included in courses where students are likely to be job ready. You will need to check the course brochure for the course that interests you to confirm whether or not work experience is part of the course.

Will a Women's program course or Community program course get me a job?

This depends on the individual student, including their work and study history. However,  our courses can help you take the first step towards obtaining a vocational qualification.

Are there Women's and Community program courses at other colleges?

All colleges in the Sydney Institute have an Outreach Coordinator. Contact the Outreach Coordinator at your chosen college to discuss their courses.

How much does a course cost?

Many  of our Outreach courses are free of the TAFE Administration Charge but might attract a small materials charge.

You can call the Sutherland Outreach Section on (02) 9710 5004.