Get a Head Start Want a career that’s flexible, creative and gives you the chance to really make a difference? Why not consider teaching? Right now the NSW Department of Education and Training’s 2008 Teacher Education Scholarship Program is offering up to 60 scholarships for Aboriginal people to train as primary or secondary teachers.

Scholarships include payment of HECS fees and an annual training allowance of up to $1,500 for each year of your scholarship. You’re also guaranteed a permanent teaching job in NSW public schools when you graduate! Scholarship holder Carly Lake started her Bachelor of Education at the University of Sydney this year. “I wanted to be a primary teacher from a very young age, so getting a scholarship was a real bonus,” she says.

Carly believes the scholarship has made a big difference already, as she has no HECS fees to worry about and can afford to buy textbooks and reference materials she needs. “I think it’s definitely an advantage over some other students, and I can concentrate on doing well at uni,” she says. Carly wants to become a teacher so she can make a difference and provide increased opportunities for children of all backgrounds, especially those from Aboriginal communities. “I think being Aboriginal is a big advantage in the classroom,” she says. “We can bring a different perspective in all kinds of areas. “I’m also extremely conscious of being culturally aware and sensitive to other people’s beliefs. That’s so important in a multicultural classroom.”

When she graduates, Carly is guaranteed a permanent teaching position. She would like to teach in western or south western Sydney. “I want to help children who might not have as much support in their lives,” she says. “I know I’ll get more out of it personally, too.” You can find out more about teaching as a career and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teacher education scholarships, through the teach.NSW website at www.teach.nsw.edu.au Applications close 21 September 2007.