THE Youthie yesterday played host to Australia’s oldest Aboriginal college, which was spreading the message of adult education in Indigenous communities.
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Based in Sydney, Tranby Aboriginal College has provided diploma-level learning for Indigenous people across the nation since 1958.
Tranby is on a mission to recruit new students, embarking on an epic road trip and visiting major regional centres across NSW.
“It wasn’t good enough to simply send out emails,” project manager Anna Yip said.
Ms Yip said it was important to meet with the communities face-to-face and highlight the learning opportunities available to Indigenous adults.
The college has no upfront cost and provides assistance with travel and accommodation for students who study on campus in Sydney.
Ms Yip said Indigenous people interested in taking a course at Tranby only needed to worry about applying, with the college taking care of the rest of the process.
“There’s very little cost. It’s all about giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders access to study options,” she said.
According to Ms Yip, Tranby has higher completion rates than state VET courses.
With 200 placements open for the next academic period, Tranby sells itself on “culturally appropriate and peer-based learning”.
The on-campus learning arrangement is a big part of the college’s learning experience.
“It’s a real community. They come out of it feeling like a family. They’re all there to achieve the same goal, which is access to that next step in the careers or lives,” Ms Yip said.
