It’s been 20 years since I had my head in the books, with a hairdressing background I wanted a change. This was the best experience, so much support, kind and understanding staff.

I’ve made some beautiful friends along the way. Thank you Mirta, Suzette, Alison, Rosie and everyone else who made this experience run so well.

Before studying at LTT I was working full-time in retail while studying a bachelor’s in science as an off-campus student. I first saw information about LTT on the Australian Government’s My Skills website (www.myskills.gov.au). I chose the Certificate IV in Laboratory Techniques as I believed it would help me to gain the practical skills necessary to start working in the laboratory field. I was hoping to find employment in a science-related industry on completion of my degree, and I thought the certificare would complement my degree and help me find employment sooner. I enrolled with LTT Melbourne as the course duration was shorter than the other training providers listed on My Skills.

I really enjoyed the hands-on practical training, the duration of the course, and how flexible the course was to suit around my current employment. I was easily able to work full time and complete the course. The learning environment at LTT is so friendly and supportive. My trainer assessor, Vinita, is a highly capable and helpful instructor who supported my journey from day one. She made my learning experience a very enjoyable one.

I’m really pleased as now that I have finished the course, I have been appointed as laboratory technician at ALS, in the environmental lab in Springvale. I will be starting my training soon. I am really thankful to Vinita and LTT for all the guidance and support I received. I am now starting in a career that I have a keen interest in, and I’m really hopeful about what the future may hold for me in this industry.

I am grateful for all the knowledge, skills and expert guidance that I received. I would highly recommend LTT to anyone who would like to gain skills and knowledge required to work in the laboratory industry.

I had a great experience with LTT in Fitzroy, Melbourne. The trainers provided great support when needed, and were extremely informative when teaching us our written and practical assessments.

I am now qualified and ready to begin a fulfilling career as a pathology collector/healthcare worker, thanks to LTT and their amazing trainers.

A special thank you to Joe and Jolanta, our class trainers and a big thank you to Kellie, our mentor for providing me great support during my work placement at Monash medical centre.

I wanted to thank you all so much for your support throughout the phlebotomy course. I attended last year from August till October [at the Brisbane training centre].

I have been successfully employed with Sullivan Nicolaides pathology here on the Sunshine Coast since January of this year and it was perfect timing for me for so many reasons. I’m grateful for all the staff at LTT for everything I learnt during my time there. Despite having an ambulance background and small nursing experience, I learned some valuable tips, particularly from Toni (she is amazing) that I have incorporated into my work place environment (“see the blood, release the blood” still echoes in my head….thank you Toni. It has been a baptism of fire with the COVID-19 pandemic going on, however, one that has been made easier with the valuable practical help from the course.

I have been working at Fiona Stanley Hospital since the end of March and boy-oh-boy is all I can say. I never imagined in 100 years that I would be working in a hospital after Lauren telling us that we would have to wait several years before being able to work in a hospital. I was fast-tracked because of COVID-19 – it has been an incredible journey to say the least.

Learning to do things the PathWest way has been a real journey. I have mainly been in the clinics and I am enjoying it thoroughly.

I had been working as a secretary for many years, but now that my son has started school, I wanted something with part-time hours. LTT was really the only choice for blood collection courses. I loved the face-to-face learning, plus the classes were only two days a week.

I have always had an innate interest in pathology – pre-analytical, as well as the laboratory side of it all which was satiated through my university studies. Studying phlebotomy would also give me additional skills and experience in a clinical setting which will be highly complementary to my main aspiration of studying medicine and becoming a doctor. I have heard that doctors are notoriously bad at collecting bloods so I look forward to reversing that stereotype.

I found the course through a Google search, but really I first heard about it through word of mouth. I was having my bloods collected at a Clinipath collection centre and complimented my specimen collector on how gentle her venepuncture technique was. I asked her where she studied her course as I was interested in it myself. She said that she had studied at LTT in Osborne Park and students from there have a great reputation in the industry.”

Before studying with LTT, Claudia was working as a private tutor.

“I got a call from the coordinator for PathWest at Royal Perth Hospital. She called me in for an interview, asked me to do a bleed on a dummy arm and asked me some further questions. She offered me the job on the spot! They do things quite differently at PathWest. There is a little bit of additional training they like to provide us with which seem like some exciting opportunities. It was really helpful to have already completed the hand hygiene training module which was good, so thank you.

The job I am doing now is currently based at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, which is probably the best possible situation I could have asked for, I might be moving to the outpatients clinic at Fiona Stanley Hospital shortly, but I am waiting to hear back. I am working with a great little team and it has included some girls that were recently hired from LTT too.

We’ve all had a go going on the wards and I think that since getting this job we have all learned a lot and improved our skills very rapidly. Thank you Lauren and Amanda, you both have helped me out so much and I owe so much to the LTT team for giving me the skills and right attitude to have a successful career in phlebotomy. It has been amazing. I am aspiring to continue working casually with PathWest for as long as possible. My future plan is to finish my undergrad degree, study medicine, and then become a doctor. This path takes a long time and working as a phlebotomist while continuing my studies is an excellent option in that it is highly rewarding and giving me clinical experience that will only help me later in my career.

After I completed my work placement there weren’t any positions available at the time, but I kept in contact with the Clinipath Area Coordinator in my area every few weeks. A casual position became available and was offered to me, I took the opportunity straight away even though I was after full-time work.

I started as a casual relief Pathology Collector for Clinipath in September 2017. In December 2017 the Area Coordinator asked if I would be interested in being a Domiciliary Collector. I started this position in February 2018 to cover someone’s maternity leave. This was a wonderful opportunity as I learned so much more and became a better bleeder.

A position became available at Osborne Park to do bookings for home visits and I was fortunate to be offered this position after applying for it. I used the experience I had gained doing home visits and the practical knowledge I had gained on the road, and put it to use organising the daily domiciliary runs for our eight Domiciliary Collectors. I also continued learning so much about the whole process involved in providing pathology so when a temporary position became available as a Patient Services Admin Assistant in 2019, I applied and was successful. Again, I continued learning and put my hand up to be involved wherever I could and to learn whatever I could. In April 2020 the 2IC to the Area Coordinator position became available which I originally took on in a temporary capacity, but that has since changed to a permanent position with continued learning.

My daily tasks involve:

• assisting the Area Coordinator with rosters for our area collectors
• ordering stores for our collection centres
• assisting with queries from collectors
• setting up new collection centres
• keeping up with any current changes
• training of new staff and refresher training for existing staff
• assisting with difficult bleeds and,
• everything involved with keeping things running smoothly in our area.

It has been hectic being involved in the pathology industry during COVID-19, however it has also been a huge learning curve and as things have been changing often daily it has kept us on our toes. We have been able to react swiftly to any changes required and it could never be said to be dull.

Before studying at LTT I was working in a bank, but I wanted to change my career. I decided to study with LTT as the course duration was shorter than the other training providers, but the entire course was complete and thorough.

I completed my course in May 2020 and was trained by Joseph Lenehan. My learning experience at LTT was very friendly and supportive. Joseph is a highly capable and helpful instructor who supported my journey through to the end.

I am amazed at how much Joseph was able to teach us in such a short period. It was challenging having the COVID-19 pandemic while studying, but he was always there to help! The hands-on learning at LTT is incredible.

The classroom experience was highly informative and fun. My trainer instilled total confidence in me when I made mistakes, as they were treated as learning opportunities. After finishing the course, I felt amazingly comfortable with live bleeds.

I have now gained employment at Melbourne Pathology and feel as though the course’s hands-on training prepared me for employment.

At the moment I am working at a COVID-19 collection centre. I throat and nose swabs from the community. I also reassure them with their enquiries (e.g. what will happen next, when will they get results). I also complete the paperwork.

Even though there were restrictions in place, my trainer was able to finish the course by due date with the great support and co-ordination of all the management and staff at LTT. The staff arranged live bleeding sessions to keep our skills up till work placement opportunities were given. It was an amazing experience to study at LTT. A big thank you to my trainer Joseph, and the staff of LTT for your invaluable support and guidance for my career path as a phlebotomist!

My name is Janet Kennerley and I’m 50 years old. I was born in the UK and spent most of my adult life growing up in Salisbury Wiltshire – a rural medieval town, well known for its spectacular Cathedral and Stonehenge nearby.

In 1999 I left a cold and grey England in order to have an adventure of a lifetime, I was 29 years. I planned to stay in Australia for 12 months and travel around – but fate had other plans as I met my gorgeous Australian hunk, who captured my heart and became my husband.

Before I left the UK, I’d already had a 10-year career working in the Life Insurance Industry as an Underwriter – which is essentially a corporate office job type role. I continued to work in that same industry for a further 20 years in Sydney.

Then, in 2017, after 30 years in the corporate world, I decided to take a career break in order to focus on my elderly relatives in the UK. Then, as time went on things settled and they no longer needed my help – my mind turned a corner. I knew that I did not want to return to my old corporate job, and it was time to do something different.

But what? Nursing maybe? Nursing has been part of my family heritage. Three key women in my life were nurses… but did I really, at the age of 48, want to start a 4-year degree?

Then a girlfriend of mine told me about someone she knew who, like me, was looking for a career change and was now a pathology collector – and she loved it!

Perhaps I could do that? So I did some research of my own and with the help of Google, LTT popped up!

I learned from LTT’s website that the course was short and they held free information sessions at their training centre in Parramatta. Perfect. Let’s go check this out!

The information day was a blessing – and there were many attractive features to the course:

• the class sizes were small
• there was a balance between home-based and practical in class learning, and
• very attractively, the opportunity for placement at the end of the course.

Tick, tick, tick. I signed up and started my course in August 2018. My trainer was Kathie.

The training was comprehensive and full of Kathie’s personal anecdotes which kept the class fun. There was a lot of content to cover in a short period, but as long as you committed to the home learning modules it was achievable. I think the practical part of the course, that being the skills needed to successfully draw blood, were the most nerve wrecking, but also the most essential. I think it’s safe to say that the learning curve was steep, but we all had the skills needed by the end of the course.

In a nutshell, LTT put me on the road to pursue my career change. In my late 40’s I wasn’t sure if this old dog could learn new tricks, but with help, guidance, and dedication I did. Following my certification, I was recruited quickly by Australian Clinical Labs as Pathology Collector and I continue to work with them. My role takes me to various different collection rooms in the northern metro area of Sydney. I can hand on heart say I love this line of work. Most particularly I love the interaction with my patients, they are all so different and all have a story to tell. I tell my friends that my job is a bit like speed dating but without the romance. I’ve been told the most amazing stories in the short five minutes I am with them – some hilarious, and some tragic. I feel incredibly privileged that they feel safe enough to share these extraordinary stories with me.