Samantha Johnson

Sam currently works for Mandurah Youth Commitment in WA and is a great role model for other young people either considering a future in counseling or who might be unsure about what they next stage is for them in terms of work and study.

From trainee to manager a lot has happened in six months for 2004 New Apprenticeships Trainee of the Year Samantha Johnson. Sam's role has changed significantly and she is now the operational manager at Mandurah Youth Commitment. She has also taken on significant responsibilities outside of her core work duties.

Sam understands first-hand how training can provide young people with self-confidence and open up new career opportunities. After a troubled adolescence, Sam turned her life around by undertaking a Certificate III in Business Administration with Challenger Institute of TAFE.

"Having qualifications behind me has given me the confidence and assurance that I have something valuable to pass onto others," Sam says. "Winning an Australian Training Award really brought that home. I feel like I can speak from some experience in encouraging other young people to pursue vocational education and training."

Since being recognised for her achievements as a student, Sam is now a formidable trainer herself. She recently started working on a project to help young artists attain a Certificate II in Business Management so they can provide arts services to the local community for an income.

When Sam applied for the ANTA awards, her goal was to become a role model for other young people. She is now seeing that goal become a reality and is regularly asked to speak with young people about apprenticeships and training. She's a keen advocate of the alternatives to mainstream tertiary qualifications and always speaks about VET as a light at the end of the tunnel.

As well as her role at Mandurah Youth commitment, Sam is involved in several important community projects.

As just 23, Sam is a volunteer mentor at local primary and high schools, where she sees a few students every week in particular students at risk. Sam offers advice to the students about their respective issues and helps them realise their goals by giving them the self-confidence to pursue their dreams. In high schools, she encourages mentees to stay on and get further education and training and to keep their options open.

Sam is currently working on a project called "Urban Arts" whereby she helps local youths achieve a Cert II in Business. The kids are artistically talented and are engaged to provide arts services to the local community such as beautification of the town - painting bus shelters or murals at schools. The project aims to turn this into a business opportunity for young, talented kids. Sam is dedicated to helping her mentees establish the business skills to provide arts services as a business.

Sam also works as a Transition Officer with kids who are "dis-engaged" at ages of 15 - 18. She helps them get "re-engaged" ie. with school/training/work. She facilitates the point of contact with welfare agencies - makes appointments and goes along with them to meetings to explain what's going on. Afterward, they can check in with her if there's anything they didn't understand.

On the job, Sam is collecting evidence for a Diploma in Front Line Management and cert Four in Workplace Training and Assessment. This will provide her with the qualifications to deliver training herself. So instead of just helping people collect evident for their studies, she will be able to assess students direct.

Samantha Johnson - Western Australia (Winner, New Apprenticeships Apprentice of the Year)

Course: Certificate III Business Administration
Employer: Mandurah Youth Commitment
Training Provider: Challenger Institute of TAFE