Column piece: People's News Mackay

It's been great to see CQUniversity Mackay Campuses buzzing with the return of students for Term 1' 2022.

Mackay has seen strong enrolment numbers for this year' both in higher education and TAFE. Our TAFE student numbers in particular have seen a 25 per cent increase from 2021' demonstrating the strong demand for qualified tradespeople in our region.

Despite COVID putting a strain on many industries and occupations' underlying demand and long-terms skills shortages in professions like health and education have attracted new students.

With interest in our health-related courses consistently growing' it was no surprise that our most popular course this year is our Bachelor of Medical Imaging.

Our Bachelor of Education (Secondary) course is also a popular course this year' and with a reported decline in regional and rural teachers' I am excited to see a large–number of students ready to become the next generation of skilled and passionate educators for our region.–

Speaking of high school' earlier this month we opened our doors to more than 200 high school students from across the region for our annual Uni Experience event.

Hosted on both the Mackay Ooralea and City campuses' the Year 12 students explored post-high school options by meeting current students' participating in discipline-based activities and exploring our facilities.

Here at CQU' we believe everyone deserves access to world-class tertiary education and training.

Students were provided information on alternative pathways' our Academic Learning Centre (ALC) and costs associated with university' which opened the eyes of some students who otherwise through further study would never be an option for them.

I hope to see some of these excited Year 12 students back on campus next year completing their studies for real.

- Pierre