New courses coming up in Marine Habitat Conservation & Restoration

Photo by naomi tamar on Unsplash

From 6th of April 2020, both domestic and international students will have the opportunity to start studying Certificate II (high school only) and CertificateIII in Marine Habitat Conservation and Restoration. The marine courses have been developed by Envirotech Education's very own qualified trainers. 

The RTO decided to create and deliver both courses after having noted the following important gaps in the marine conservation and restoration fields in Australia:

⇓

1. Many people with lower-level skills are in practical positions working in marine conservation, resulting in high salary expenses and wasted resources for employers, government and the community.

2. There were no practical VET marine courses available within the Australian educational field.

3. There are currently only two pathways available to enter the marine conservation and restoration field:

A. On the job training

B. By obtaining an academic degree (B.A., B.Sc. or above) in a related topic such as marine biology.

However, the Higher Education Sector does not provide hands-on practical working skills to prepare graduates for various restoration and conservation jobs.

4. Due to the lack of university education, indigenous and traditional coastal community people of Australia have been unable to work in the Marine Sector and make a living from it, despite their ancestral knowledge on conservation and deep connection to the oceans.

⇑

Another strong motivation for creating both courses was the current health state of the oceans. With issues such as marine pollution, ocean acidification, loss of marine species and degradation of marine and coastal environments, Envirotech Education believes we need better-educated people to fight to turn this around.

Photo by LI FEI on Unsplash

Marine exploitation and pollution are causing rapid damage to entire marine ecosystems globally, including Australia's largest natural marine asset, the Great Barrier Reef. Worldwide damage to our marine ecosystems demands that humanity develop and implement our restoration and regeneration solutions now before it is too late.

Protection and conservation projects including coastal environmental campaigns, creation of conservation areas, deployment of artificial reefs, conservation-based diving activities, restoration of mangroves, shellfish protection programs, seagrass bed, and coral reef conservation, are all critical to making these changes possible.

After 4 years of intense research, Certificates II and III in Marine Habitat Conservation & Restoration are finally ready to go. The courses consist of small, clear, theorical and practical units providing skills and knowledge around marine ecosystem restoration.

Cert II includes:

Participate in work health and safety processes; apply basic knowledge of marine restoration to conservation projects and conduct photography for fieldwork.

Cert III includes:

Provide information on coastal marine projects; plan for environmental conservation and restoration projects; take measurements of individual corals; respond to emergencies.

Both Certificate II and III are designed for students who may not have earned university enrollment but who have the desire to learn marine-based working skills and who wish to take professional leadership in community marine restoration work and to empower local communities to participate in protecting local marine environments.

Photo by Shivam Singh on Unsplash

The courses will support the restoration of local ecosystems, accomplished in shorter terms and associated with projects on the ground. The courses will be delivered face to face both on campus and at various external locations.

Students will receive direct learning, be able to discuss case studies and scenarios, participate in workgroups, get practical hands-on learning and count on industry involvement.

After certification, graduates will become qualified marine conservation and restoration professionals. Australian and international job searches reveal the following possibilities of jobs for marine professionals:

Fishery management and monitoring, marine park ranger, research assistant, volunteer coordinator, restoration projects/ data collector, research services officer on marine ecosystems and more.

Both courses will be delivered at Envirotech Gold Coast Campus.

👍

REQUIREMENTS

Domestic students will be required to complete a language, literacy and numeracy assessment prior to or on enrolment.

International students must be competent in an English placement test and language, literacy and numeracy assessment.

Due to this course been delivered both on and off-site, students will be notified by their trainer when they are required to bring their own laptop to class.

Students must have Microsoft Office 2010 or later or an equivalent software package installed on their laptops.

Dress Code: The trainer will advise the appropriate dress code while completing the practical component of this course.