Meet Our Students
Atit Tunsuwan - Thailand
Diploma of Hospitality Management
(including Commercial Cookery)
Atit first heard about TAFE NSW from IDP education agency in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He began taking English courses at the IDP several years ago and saw advertisements for TAFE NSW.
“I decided that I wanted to come and learn English in a western country. I first travelled to Tasmania to get a feel for the language and then came home for a few months and made the final decision to move to Australia permanently to learn English and attend TAFE NSW.”
“When I first arrived in Sydney I took some English language classes at TAFE NSW and worked part-time in a restaurant. I really enjoyed the food industry and so I thought that in order to improve my English and culinary skills, I would attend TAFE NSW – Sydney Institute of Technology for commercial cookery.”
The Ultimo campus has recently opened a new Hospitality Management and Commercial Cookery facility, which includes the campus restaurant The Apprentice, which is open to the paying public and operated by students under the guidance of their teachers.
So far he has loved the facilities. “I was so surprised that all the kitchen equipment is high tech and up-to-date, much better than I could have hoped. I love to bake in particular and found the baking facilities wellstocked with modern equipment.” Atit feels that TAFE NSW is better than other colleges because his friends have told him of their experiences elsewhere and other college facilities are not as good.
The biggest challenge Atit had to overcome was developing his English language skills. “I found it a little difficult in the beginning to understand teachers, but after taking English language courses at TAFE NSW and going for free tutor classes in the library, my English has improved.”
His favourite part about studying at TAFE NSW has been the teachers. “All the faculty members are friendly and well educated. I have learned a lot from them and this knowledge will help me in the future.”
Atit would definitely recommend studying at TAFE NSW to people from Australia as well as international students, “It has been a great experience for me and I have learned enough to make the fees worth it”, he says.
Upon completion of his diploma, he plans to work in a hotel or get a job through his placement. “I want to apply for permanent residency in the future because I love Australia and eventually wants to be a head chef or own a restaurant.”
He currently works two jobs outside of school about 3-4 days a week but the amount of school work is not too heavy and he maintains a perfect balance while helping to fund his education. His work also allows for practical experience to further his career.
> Download Atit Tunsuwan's profile (PDF 67kb)
ASK A QUESTION
Need advice about studying at TAFE NSW? Ask questions and get fast answers!
FIND A COURSE
Select a course area for more details:
