Ariyani – a TAFE Equity student

Ariyani first came into contact with TAFE at Connect Marrickville in 2005. She spoke no English and had a small baby and her first entry point was the Indonesian Women’s Group. From there she attended playgroups and the TAFE Outreach Community Engagement/English Class on Wednesday mornings. The crèche run adjacent to the TAFE class allowed her to study. This child care was funded by Outreach and a grant from Metro MRC. As her English improved she joined an Outreach WOW (Work Opportunities for Women) course (Certificate I) and later an Outreach course in Playgroup Facilitation. 
During this time Ariyani was employed by Connect as a casual childcare worker on one of their playgroups and for the crèche for the Community Engagement/English class and she continued to work in this role for several years (2009 to 2011).
In 2012 Ariyani enrolled in Petersham TAFE’s Multicultural Unit’s Cert II in Community Services (Children’s Services) and is now completing her Cert III in Children’s Services at Petersham TAFE College. 
Early in 2013 Ariyani was employed by KU Children’s Services and is valued as a highly skilled childcare worker. 
Ariyani’s education and employment pathway from 2005 to 2012 has been made possible by a strong partnership between Connect and TAFE Outreach and by the provision of a range of access programs and expertise including TAFE Multicultural programs. There are many people in the community with similar needs to those of Ariyani and thus the importance of retaining TAFE equity programs so that they too may have opportunities to pathway into mainstream qualifications, volunteering and employment.