Meaghan (Pictured left enjoying festivities with friends) Position Title: Program Officer Hometown: Canberra Current Location: Teaching and Learning Capital Fund VET - Canberra. Educational Qualifications: Year 12 certificate, Erindale College Download and listen to Meaghan’s audio recording. (MP3 2.4MB)

 
“I have been supported, encouraged and given so many opportunities…”

My name is Meaghan. I am an APS 5, program officer from Canberra.

My highest educational qualification is my year 12 certificate, Erindale College

When I finished year twelve I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or where I wanted to work, so I decided I would try and get some experience in the public service. I started at DEEWR on a 3 month contract and once my three months was up I decided I would like to stay in the department.

Luckily, I was able to have my contract renewed and I have been here for over 2 years now.

I really enjoy working for DEEWR because of all the experience I have gained here. I have been supported, encouraged and given so many opportunities to learn and get an idea of the different areas of the education side of the Department. I also like working on these VET (Vocational Education and Training) Programs where I can see the benefits that DEEWR funding is having on the rural and remote communities around Australia.

A usual day for me involves a lot of work on the Teaching and Learning Capital Fund or the TLCF VET. This program was announced by the Prime Minister on 12 December 2008 as part of the 4.7 billion nation building infrastructure package to support Australia’s economy. This has been a huge task as there are 150 projects in total for this element of the TLCF. I was also lucky enough to be one of the VET representatives working on the Education Investment Fund or the EIF.

The EIF is part of the Australian government’s nation building agenda to stimulate economic activity in the short term and expand growth potential in the medium to long term, to help equip Australians with the high level skills necessary in an increasingly competitive world economy. My involvement in the program was in the assessment of applications submitted to DEEWR for funding for round 2 of the EIF. I really enjoyed working on this as it was another piece of experience I could take with me.