Evaluate your work placement

The Viva La Gong festival brought together a large team of volunteer to support all aspects of the events. It was fun and challenging for the young people volunteering as it gave them an opportunity to express their personal creativity as part of a team and reflect their skill in the communication area. I felt that the festival especially supported and helped TAFE students because it gave them opportunities for practising what they had learned through their TAFE courses. Some of these lessons had emphasised how to communicate and promote their course to others. Most of the TAFE students helped by marketing events, by distribution and by prevention of unsafe practices during the events.
I learned that volunteering is free labour and that it is worthwhile volunteering as participants in this work placement could practice what they had learned all year and so consolidate and expand their knowledge. Students were pleased to be part of the Local Council organisation. However the organisation needs to be better organised to get the most from the volunteer students. The coordinator should have already known what objects were needed and where to place them. For example: one lady told us bring chairs and tables to the event but she did not tell us where to place them, so we played around area by area to find out by ourselves. Finally we found out where to place them through a sign map.
The success of students in their future careers requires practice before they begin. The Viva La Gong festival experience gave me the opportunity to practice thinking ahead in participating in a large public event and in interacting with the public. I believe these are two extremely valuable experiences and I was pleased to be a part of this festival.