Jackson (left) with VICSEG Videographer Simon (right)

Meet this week’s #VICSEGHighlight, Jackson! Since arriving in Australia in only July last year, Jackson has come leaps and bounds towards establishing a new life in a new country where he hopes to be joined in the future by his wife and three children who remain in his country of origin. Jackson completed a CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing and Disability) with VICSEG and is now nearing completing of a CHC43121 Certificate IV in Disability Support with VICSEG. More recently, Jackson (who hold a Bachelor of Education degree in his home country) gained employment with the Coburg Special Developmental School – an important VICSEG supporter!

What led you to enrol in the Certificate III in Individual Support with VICSEG? 

When I came to Australia in July last year, I met a colleague in the community who had already done that course with VICSEG. He was the one who recommended to me to enrol. Being a student with VICSEG is a wonderful thing. They teach you both the theory and all the practical knowledge. They’ve got [practical] facilities that are really well equipped. The knowledge and information I got from them is now the same knowledge and information I’m applying in my current job.

How did you get your job at Coburg Special Developmental School?  

The way I got the job here is very funny. It’s an interesting story. After graduating with the Certificate III, I went to VICSEG in Coburg and talked to one of the team, one of the staff members, and I told her that I really want to get work in a school.  She said I should go and speak to one of the Principals at the Coburg Special Developmental School. So, I came in, I introduced myself to Miss Sally, the Assistant Principal, and told her who am I and why I come, I explained myself. She looked at my resume, looked at my passport, looked at my Working with Children Card, and then she said, “You know what? I’m going to employ you as a one of my casual educational support staff here in Coburg.” That’s how I joined.

What are some of the things you like most about your job?  

In the morning, when I come here, I make sure I organise and arrange all the learning materials before the learners come, I make sure everything is in place so that when the teacher comes, when the learners come, they know where to put their bags, they know what to do. We do that so they can be independent. They learn the skills of being independent.  

I feel happy when I make an impact on a certain person who has a disability, because I look at that person as my own person. I really feel passion. I look at it that whatever I do has an impact on another person.

What excites you the most about working with children in the school?  

One of the things that excites me most about my job is that every day I learn a new thing. I learn from the students themselves. Because each student is different. Different disabilities, different triggers, different behaviour changes. So, you get to learn different things all the time. Every day is a learning process. The learning doesn’t stop, it keeps on going.

What advice would you offer someone thinking about working in the industry?  

I’d tell them not to waste even a minute of time. Just join right away. It’s a field that you get to learn different aspects of people, you get to learn different behaviours of people, so it’s a wonderful field to work in. I recommend VICSEG to others just the way I was recommended myself. Because VICSEG is a really amazing centre, whereby they make sure they equip you with the information, the skills and the knowledge. Their facilities are well equipped, and you leave prepared to implement the skills that you learned in class into the field.