From screen to school

After briefly pursuing an acting career, Justen Petch realised that he needed a role that would pay the bills but also allow him to express his creativity.

“I completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in acting for screen and stage, with a minor in television production at another institution. Acting was fun and I landed a couple of roles, but I realised that it would never pay my bills and I didn’t enjoy the sales or telemarketing jobs I had to take to support myself.

In 2018 I decided to pursue my other passion – teaching – and enrolled in the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care at VU Polytechnic. Following that, I immediately enrolled in the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care.

I chose VU Polytechnic because of the great reputation it has among my peers and the close proximity of the campuses to where I live. I’ve found the learning environment remarkably supportive and the teachers were excellent. Without the training I received at VU Polytechnic I may be in a very different place indeed.

My courses also allowed me to undertake five work placements over my 18 months of training. Each one was very different and gave me the opportunity to hone my skills and knowledge in various learning environments. I was offered casual work from my first placement and by the time I was in the sixth month of my Certificate III, I was working on all my class-free days.

At the moment I’m working as a casual at VU’s child care centres at Footscray Park and Footscray Nicholson campuses.

My short-term goal is to progress to being an Early Childhood Teacher running my own kindergarten program. Long-term I’d like to study the Master of Education at VU and eventually teach at TAFE level.”