TAFE Academy
Home Valley Indigenous trainees and mentors are central to the development of the pastoral and tourism enterprise.
Home Valley Station is owned by the Indigenous Land Corporation and was purchased on behalf of the Balanggarra people of the East Kimberley.
Since acquiring the Home Valley pastoral lease in 1999, the ILC has endeavoured to involve local Indigenous people in all aspects of the station's operations. In both its tourism and pastoral enterprises, members of the local Indigenous communities have assisted in all manner of projects associated with the resurrection of what was, at the time of purchase, a poorly neglected cattle station.
Today, Home Valley is a hub of activity that caters not only for travellers of the Gibb River road, but for Indigenous students and trainees from many communities across the Kimberley. Skills-based programmes are run continuously throughout the dry season (April to October), delivering tuition in fencing, welding, concreting, landscaping, tourism, horsemanship, stock handling and other practical skills.
Western Australia's Justice Department has also played a role in increasing the involvement of Indigenous people in Home Valley's operations. The Wyndham Work Camp, a facility of the Department of Justice, is a regular visitor to the station for weekly stints at fencing and landscaping. Up to 16 men participate in programs that are aimed at defining areas that belong to the Forrest River Aboriginal Reserve, making tourists aware of culturally significant land by fencing work and posting informative signs. These visits are a lot of fun and provide the work camp members with not only the opportunity to gain practical skills but also to indulge in the activities not readily available to town-dwellers, such as fishing, hunting and swimming in Home Valley's array of natural waterholes.
East Kimberley TAFE is also a regular visitor to Home Valley, utilising our facilities for various aspects of the Rural Operations courses provided for young local men and women. And since 2006, TAFE has been part of the fabric of Home Valley through the incorporation into our tourist operations of up to 10 full-time students in Indigenous Tourism Traineeships. Effectively, these traineeships make Home Valley a centre of learning where practical tourism skills are taught in the course of a normal day on the Station: every bed that is made, every drink and meal that is served, every customer query that is answered, every camp site that is sold and every tour that is conducted is the hands-on tuition of our ten full-time, live-in Tourism Trainees, who live with and work alongside the Home Valley staff.
Through the ILC's alliance with Kimberley Group Training and East Kimberley TAFE, we will be in a position to maximise employment pathways and ensure full-time employment for all Certificate III graduates of Home Valley Tourism Traineeships..
Home Valley Station is owned by the Indigenous Land Corporation and was purchased on behalf of the Balanggarra people of the East Kimberley.
Since acquiring the Home Valley pastoral lease in 1999, the ILC has endeavoured to involve local Indigenous people in all aspects of the station's operations. In both its tourism and pastoral enterprises, members of the local Indigenous communities have assisted in all manner of projects associated with the resurrection of what was, at the time of purchase, a poorly neglected cattle station.
Today, Home Valley is a hub of activity that caters not only for travellers of the Gibb River road, but for Indigenous students and trainees from many communities across the Kimberley. Skills-based programmes are run continuously throughout the dry season (April to October), delivering tuition in fencing, welding, concreting, landscaping, tourism, horsemanship, stock handling and other practical skills.
Western Australia's Justice Department has also played a role in increasing the involvement of Indigenous people in Home Valley's operations. The Wyndham Work Camp, a facility of the Department of Justice, is a regular visitor to the station for weekly stints at fencing and landscaping. Up to 16 men participate in programs that are aimed at defining areas that belong to the Forrest River Aboriginal Reserve, making tourists aware of culturally significant land by fencing work and posting informative signs. These visits are a lot of fun and provide the work camp members with not only the opportunity to gain practical skills but also to indulge in the activities not readily available to town-dwellers, such as fishing, hunting and swimming in Home Valley's array of natural waterholes.
East Kimberley TAFE is also a regular visitor to Home Valley, utilising our facilities for various aspects of the Rural Operations courses provided for young local men and women. And since 2006, TAFE has been part of the fabric of Home Valley through the incorporation into our tourist operations of up to 10 full-time students in Indigenous Tourism Traineeships. Effectively, these traineeships make Home Valley a centre of learning where practical tourism skills are taught in the course of a normal day on the Station: every bed that is made, every drink and meal that is served, every customer query that is answered, every camp site that is sold and every tour that is conducted is the hands-on tuition of our ten full-time, live-in Tourism Trainees, who live with and work alongside the Home Valley staff.
Through the ILC's alliance with Kimberley Group Training and East Kimberley TAFE, we will be in a position to maximise employment pathways and ensure full-time employment for all Certificate III graduates of Home Valley Tourism Traineeships..
