I’m a Bachelor of Agricultural Science graduate who worked as a Research Officer at Sugarcane Research Institute Sri Lanka. Before enrolling in the Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques at LTT Melbourne, I worked as Nursery Hand at Haar’s Nursery.

One of my friends suggested training with LTT due to the short duration of course. The course was very good and helped me to learn about Australian laboratory standards. My favourite part of the course was the practical sessions relevant to titration.

I am now working as a Laboratory Technician at Haar’s Plant Nursery. Some of my tasks and duties include:

• Water, potting media and soil analysis
• Collecting and identification of insects
• Order chemicals and required laboratory items
• Record keeping
• Maintenance of the laboratory

The training at LTT helped prepare me for the workforce and refresh my previous knowledge.

When I decided to do the Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques course, it was an enormous learning curve for me as I didn’t have the necessary foundations for most of the subjects (especially chemistry), but the support from my trainer, Vinita, made it possible.

Vinita’s teaching methods are so inspirational – they motivated me to do well. At the same time I also enjoyed my study. Vinita was right beside us throughout the course, especially during the COVID-19 situation. For that I’m so incredibly grateful.

Although there was panic going on outside, Vinita’s ability to adapt to a new situation quickly in order to keep students on track with their training was admirable. She did it in a calmly manner. I witnessed on so many occasions that she genuinely cares to ensure all students get the best learning experience. She is very flexible and skillful to organise a tailored teaching method for each student.

Vinita has all of the best qualities of a good teacher. Without her, we wouldn’t have made it through during those difficult months. She is such an amazing person!

No doubt that Vinita is a huge asset to LTT and I’m sure she contributed to their well-deserved reputation with her skilful teaching performance. Thank you so much for being someone I could approach and talk with in confidence. Thank you! Thank you!

Please extend my sincere appreciation to your management as I’m truly grateful that they employed best trainers to run this organisation.

The Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques is a requirement for the role I’m currently doing, however I would have completed it at some stage regardless.

The course was relatively easy for me, having received credit transfers and already working in the industry. The parts that I did find challenging I was able to seek help from my trainer, Gavan.

Gavan has been pretty flexible with everyone’s learning, given I had credit transfers he helped me complete my course in a quicker time period. He was also available to answer any questions via email if I needed help and would prompt me to improve my answers or evidence of workplace learning should it be lacking. I would do my coursework during any downtime. A co-worker is also doing the course, so we would allocate time for each of us to work through the coursework

It is fantastic to have completed the Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques, especially being older (I am 64), so it is definitely never too late to keep learning.

Happy to recommend your company as all my dealings with you all were excellent. I will be recommending to everyone I work with. I think they should all have this certification. I felt very well supported throughout the whole time and am now trying to get you established as a Vendor for Rio Tinto. We want to offer the courses to our operators here for future development for them.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vinita profusely for all her hard work, dedication and patience in getting me through the Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques course. It has been only six months, but I feel as though I’ve known Vinita for years. All those times when I doubted myself, Vinita stood behind me with encouragement and determination. I can’t begin to express the amount of gratitude I have for her.

We all went through some of the toughest times we’ll see in our lifetimes and her ability to adjust and continue is extremely admirable. Vinita made me feel comfortable with asking questions, no matter how silly they might have sounded. Vinita helped me to understand and grasp the concept. I could not have done it without her. Having had no experience in chemistry before, Vinita made me want to learn and appreciate what she has done for years.

Once again thank you, thank you, thank you! I could not have had a better teacher.

I have been lucky to work at Boral Laboratories and Quarries as a Tester of Concrete and Quarry product for the past two years. My lab boss, asked me and two other employees from our lab if we would be interested in completing a Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques to aid our abilities and learn faster about our roles and responsibilities within the lab and field testing. All three of us jumped at the opportunity to learn more. It was a bonus we were all doing it together as we had many good discussions about our work and ideas while studying together.

Gavan Canavan was our trainer and assessor and boy were we lucky! He has a great sense of humour; nothing was ever too much trouble to help us understand. He is very easy going and we looked forward to him coming every month. We would even make morning tea and feed him to try and make him give us a pass – this became a running joke when he visited. I would complete some study from home, but with all three of us doing the same learning units, we were able to set time aside in the lab to study together and help each other. I feel very lucky to have the bosses we have and Boral willing to train us.

First of all I would like to thank LTT for referring me to the Mérieux NutriSciences internship program. I started the internship a little bit nervous, as I had no previous experience in Australia. It was the training and knowledge which I received at LTT that provided me the confidence to perform my work. I was able to draw on my training for things like using and calibration of scales, ph meters, pipettes, sample preparation, dilutions and workplace safety.

Through this wonderful opportunity I learned brand new skills in media preparation, autoclaving, sampling of food, bacterial testing methods like sim plates, petri films, spread plates, pour plates and incubation for bacterial growth. I highly recommend the Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques at LTT. I was able to gain a lot of knowledge in a short time and then apply it in a real lab!

I completed the Certificate III in Pathology Collection course at LTTV in Fitzroy and couldn’t be happier with the teaching process: the staff, the instructors, and the outcome. Ursula is an exceptional teacher, very thorough, knowledgeable, approachable and supportive.

I had never drawn blood before, but my technique was quickly established and I became quite confident as a result.

I highly recommend this course: it’s shorter than others, meaning you can be work-ready sooner; you receive training in all areas of pathology collection, and also in drug testing which is not offered by all providers and broadens your scope of employment. A week of work placement is arranged for you, which further increases your likelihood of finding work in the field. They run other courses too – I’m already considering taking the Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques course in the new year!

My previous job was a retail manager. I decided to enrol in the Certificate III in Pathology Collection at LTT Melbourne as the location was convenient for me and it started sooner than other providers.

My training experience was very good. All the ladies in the class gave each other confidence and happy to help each other. I have gained a full-time position with Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and I can’t wait to move my way up!

Previous to studying with LTT I worked as a laboratory supervisor. I was recommended to study with LTT by other workplaces. My trainer Rob had amazing knowledge, which helped me tremendously throughout my completion of Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques.

Next I want to complete my diploma with LTT and my training and assessor certificate (TAE) to become a trainer.