Engaged in education

CHISHOLM Institute capped off a year filled with success as one of six finalists for the International Education Award.
In November the Dandenong TAFE was named Australia’s Large Training Provider of the Year at the Australian Training Awards.
It was among three finalists following its successful win in the category at the Victorian Training Awards in September.
Chisholm CEO Maria Peters said the award recognised a commitment to engaging with the community and industry and forging enduring partnerships in the south east and beyond.
She said the VET sector was a sector within education that was not well understood but had a significant impact on the economy and society.
“Quality vocational education and training… develops practical skills, technical knowledge and offers important pathways to careers needed for the ongoing development of our workforce, growth in industry and the economic sustainability of our communities,” she said.
A chance chat in a Berwick chicken shop led Ms Peters into TAFE.
She was a secondary school English teacher on maternity leave when the encounter occurred in 1989.
The woman knew Ms Peters’s husband as a good teacher, assumed she would be too and offered her a job.
She initially planned to learn from TAFE and then return to high school.
“It’s in my blood now,” she said.
Ms Peters became the Chisholm CEO in April 2010. The TAFE sector was turned on its head just four weeks later.
“We lost $30 million out of a $140 million business in six months,” she said.
“We’ve been to Hell and back the past four years.
“If I’d had a crystal ball I might have reconsidered.”
She made the decision to cut 230-plus jobs from 1400, deciding one fell swoop was preferable to “thousands of little cuts”.
“I knew I wanted Chisholm to be there in years to come.”
Ongoing funding battles have made it hard to plan for the future but Ms Peters learnt to seek advice and support while staying true to her vision.
She also reminds herself that she’s only a custodian – one hoping to leave the place in better shape than when she arrived.
Chisholm offers 400 nationally recognised courses.