The land "down under" is one of the main destinations for international students. According to Australian Embassy in Brazilabout 640,000 exchange students came to the country in 2015 - 24 thousand, 4% of the total, are Brazilian.
Tourism is a big part of the Australian economy. According to the Tourism Australia, the segment generates AUD $94 billion annually and employs 500 thousand people. In addition, there are more than 36 thousand job vacancies in the area - which includes restaurants, hotels, cafés and so on.
O Kenvale College is one of the options for those looking for qualifications in the sector. "We started in 1971 with business e tourism and, slowly, we became an institution destined for the hospitality, à commercial cooking and events" he explains Mandy Stewart, Student Admissions and International Student Recruitment of the school. "We started with domestic clients and, after a few years, our international numbers increased," he adds.
The school invests in a community atmosphere among students and staff. With classes of no more than 12 peopleThe intention is to leave teaching personalizedThis is done according to the needs of each student. "We know the students by name and want to make sure they are happy," explains Student Admissions.
The institution's atmosphere recreates that of a restaurant. "We usually have 3 or 4 different classes happening at the same time," says Mandy. "Lessons in hospitality, cooking e eventsEveryone does their part," he says. The school also offers a computer lab, a changing room, an industrial kitchen, social groups on different subjects (in and out of class), health and safety at work committees - "so that students can get involved in the day-to-day running of the industry", he says. "We have former students and ours chefs as professors - all working in industry," he explains. "Some of them teach at other universities and lecture here," he says.
Most of the classes at the school are practices. According to Mandy, "the students spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but they don't miss out on learning the theory behind the work". Among the subjects are managing diversity at work, customer interaction and even methods of preparing meat and vegetables. "They make fish, broths, sauces, sweets, cakes and flans," she says excitedly
The school has around 80 studentsbut the number varies with each 6 months (minimum course time for international students). Normally, "Commercial Cookery" happen from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.with the possibility of changes if there is a need for another class to take place - changing the time of the first class to 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the following 2pm to 8pm. The "Hospitality" have enough space for two classes at once.
Kenvale College also offers study packages (certificate 3 and 4, diploma and advanced diploma). The most popular combination is hospitality diploma (06 months course) with a certificate 3 or 4 commercial cooking courses (18 months) - giving the student 02 qualifications at the end of the course. "Most of them choose certificate 4 because of the greater choice of subjects," says Student Admissions. "They get very excited at the beginning because the classes start directly in the kitchen and the theory part is left until the end," she explains. "We have plans for another combination, which is the advanced diploma in events added to advanced diploma in hospitality - duration of 02 years" he adds.
One of the institution's great differentials is that it offers 8 hours of paid work to international students per week. The visa allows exchange students to work at most, 40 hours every two weeks. However, practical experience is a big part of course curriculumgiving students the chance to work 28 hours a week to fulfill the needs of the classes. "The college has a work-integrated learning system and, with us, all work in the industry is paid," says Mandy.
According to Student Admissions, the school's main concern is the well-being of the students. "We work with them from registration helping with the CV, arranging interviews with the BernieOur Industry Liaison Manager (basically)We talk a lot about each person's plans," he says. "We do help the student to get a job, but if they want to look for one on their own, that's not a problem," she explains. "We do ask them to let us be involved, though, so we can keep an eye on them," he adds.
Registration
Selection for the course consists of candidate's CV, a copy of studies translated into English, proficiency level (IELTS 5.5 or equivalent), copy of passport, references - work, school or university, for example - and an interview via skype/phone. "Some people worry that they don't have any experience, but that's not a problem," explains Mandy. "We really want to get to know the applicant better," she adds.
If the student does not have the required level of English, the school offers a conditional letter of offer - with the client still having to reach the required proficiency.
According to Student Admissions, hospitality means commitment. "Some people don't realize that the job is divided into shifts and that you usually start at the bottom," Mandy reminds us. "You really have to climb the whole pyramid to be successful, you have to want it badly, you have to be special," she adds.
Events
The school has annual parties open to the public, like cooking festivals. The students are responsible for all the administration, service, menu e food - everything counts as experience on the CV. "We have the Kenvale restaurant - which is open twice a year - the world food festival and wine festival in October, managed by the students themselves, who even have to find sponsors for the party," says Mandy. "The preparation involves an excursion to 'Hunter Valley', the typical wine region of New South Wales," he adds.
According to Students Admissions, the school has good feedback from the industry. "Bernie has a good relationship with the market," she says. "It evaluates both the students and the workplace every six months - ensuring that both parties are happy," she adds.
Kenvale College is also considering offering higher education courses. "We're moving towards that in the next two or three years," says Mandy.
The courses start in February, July e October.
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