Haddon Community Learning Centre’s quarterly FREE community newspaper
See Term 3, 2018 Course Guide inside
Smythesdale Apprentice Lani Chapman Secures Fourth Place in the Floristry Section at Australia's Biggest Skills Competition LANI Chapman, a 19-year-old apprentice from Smythesdale, has finished in fourth place in the floristry section at the WorldSkills National Championships in Sydney earlier this month. The championships were part of Skills Show Australia 2018, which was held at the International Convention Centre Darling Harbour, Sydney from Saturday 2nd June to Monday 4th June. WorldSkills Australia is a social enterprise that passionately believes skills drive the future of young people, and of Australia. Lani was one of more than 400 competitors in 50 trade and skill categories who were vying for the title of National Champion. In an exhausting program spread over three days, Lani and her fellow competitors had to make eight different floristry items to grace a fashion show. They ranged from arrangements to decorate a hat through presentation and bridal bouquets to a big, attentiongrabbing piece for the stage. Lani is due to complete her apprenticeship at Jenny Burke Florist in Ballarat in the next few months. “Being offered the opportunity to represent my state and compete at Skills Show 2018, in the National Championships, was a huge privilege,” Lani said. “I consider myself extremely lucky to be a part of such a creative and innovative industry.” “I was very thankful to WorldSkills Australia for this opportunity, and extremely grateful to my employer and mentor, Jennifer Burke, for providing me with endless amounts of tuition in her spare time, to help me achieve the best outcome possible and really exhibit the skills of our industry.” Lani developed an interest in floristry as a result of participating in work experience during year 10 at Damascus College. “I decided during Year 11 that I definitely wanted to do an apprenticeship in floristry so I left at the end of the year to study for a Certificate III in Floristry at Marjorie Milner College in Surrey Hills,” Lani said. Lani had to travel to Melbourne once a fortnight for the duration of the course as there were no opportunities to complete the certificate locally. As a result, Lani is keen to eventually move into teaching in Ballarat so other young local people who would like become florists don’t have to travel so far to achieve their ambition. She earned her place at the National Championships after a strong performance at the 2017 WorldSkills Australia Regional Competitions. She will be eligible to compete in the WorldSkills National Championships again in 2019, when she hopes to better this year’s effort. Lani will be teaching and demonstrating floristry techniques in Term 3 at the Haddon Community Learning Centre (see course guide for details) so book in early to ensure you don’t miss out on meeting her and seeing her in person.
SEE INSIDE FOR TERM 3 2018 HADDON COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTRE COURSE GUIDE