As a team, we can all be proud of the contribution we make to Australia’s success as an open, multicultural society.
Michael Plummer
Navitas Skilled Futures
I have worked in many different roles, including as a public librarian, a computer programmer and systems manager, a political adviser, a senior public servant, a tax consultant and a driving instructor.
My entry into TESOL came about almost by accident – I was visiting a family in Vietnam and someone suggested, ‘You should teach English’. So I came back to Australia and retrained – first doing the Cambridge course at Navitas Sydney and then studying TESOL at the University of Canberra. I started teaching at the Navitas English Language Centre at the University of Canberra in 2014 and later moved to Navitas Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP).
Having spent many years doing left brain, analytical work, I love the opportunity that Navitas gives me to make greater use of my right brain and to be more creative and intuitive. I like the AMEP structure, in which assessment requirements are clearly set out, but the trainer is free to work out the best way to help clients to meet those requirements. Likewise, the priority given to settlement matters gives trainers the time and space to respond to our clients’ needs.
I sometimes run the Pathways To Work course and really enjoy it - it is well-designed, is supported by some great Canvas modules, and gives me the satisfaction of watching the clients become confident about their ability to seek employment. To keep up to date, I’m currently doing a part-time course in language teaching at a university in Buenos Aires, via Zoom.
As a team, we can all be proud of the contribution we make to Australia’s success as an open, multicultural society.