At TIV, our students come from a diverse range of backgrounds. Some are looking to upskill, some are looking to change careers and some are looking to enter the workforce for the first time. Whatever their story is – we like to celebrate them all.
And with that, we are proud to introduce our June student of the month, Jezreel Flakemore.
Jezreel is completing a Certificate III in Carpentry at TIV and when I ask him when he knew he wanted to be a carpenter his answer is lightning quick.
“When I was about 4.”
He says the idea was planted in his mind early on and ever since he can remember he has been doing things with his hands.
“I knew a guy that was a retired carpenter and my dad was saying for a year or so, in the seventies, about how he used to do carpentry and he’s busy into wood work himself so when I was younger I used to walk around driving nails into buildings I shouldn’t have and I’d be cutting stuff I shouldn’t have with a saw and people used to come out and see what all the noise was about and they’d see me walking off with my tools.”
Because it was something so ingrained in what he loved to do, Jezreel thought he might as well try to hammer nails and cut wood for a living, but for someone so set on the industry from an early age, Jezreel did not take the typical route to enter the trade by starting an apprenticeship straight out of school.
“I did my year 11 and 12 at a school called Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Specialist School. I graduated in 2013 and I was school captain for that year.”
“Then I did some other courses that were irrelevant to carpentry. It was a work ed course to help people get ready for the workplace.”
And that gap after graduating high-school was part of the reason Jezreel ended up choosing TIV. Once he was looking to start the career he had dreamed about since before he could remember, he found that he was losing out on positions to people younger than him.
“I found that, before a came across TIV, that a lot of people didn’t want to hire me because of my age, I felt like my age was my biggest factor. I was too old.”
“For some people they can kind of feel like they’ve missed the boat a bit. A lot of the other guys there are looking for a career change, so they are a bit older.”
But for Jezreel the benefits of studying went far beyond the Institute being willing to take him on at a mature age. He knew that to get where he needed to be and to take on a career in carpentry, he would need a style of teaching that supported the way he learns.
“To be honest, I chose TIV because it offered me the help I didn’t feel I’d get if I’d done a Cert 3 anywhere else. If I needed extra help with my theory and all that, which is provided quite a lot by TIV. Their teachers were pretty helpful with my books.”
And, based on his recent award, his decision seems to be paying off. Winning student of the month wasn’t something Jezreel was expecting but it is certainly validation for the hard work he has been putting in.
“I found out the day they came to the training facility I won the award. They came and handed me the certificate and took a photo, it was pretty good. It came as a bit of a surprise.”
“I feel like I’ve come pretty far from where I was at the beginning of the course.”
“It’s helped me with trying to get the job done better. TIV has started to prepare me for what the workplace will really be like.”
And most importantly it is setting Jezreel up to get a meaningful start in his career in the very near future.
“I’ve been there since September and I could potentially be finished at the end of the year.”
“Hopefully, all going well, I will be able to move into a role either as a residential framing subby or working for a framer. That would have been harder without the TIV course.”
Jezreel is excited and optimistic about what his future holds after TIV and credits the study he has completed so far in his Certificate III as a big part of shaping that outlook. His dedication to his studies and training, along with the results he is producing, are a credit to his work ethic and show the education pathways that are offered by TIV are a genuine opportunity for people from all walks of life.
We are proud to have him as our June Student of the Month.
