12 minute read
WORK EXPERIENCE
blueprint australian industry trade college
work INDUSTRY CONSULTANT TANOU SIEBENMANN experience
ESSENTIAL LESSONS FOR YEAR 10
A school-based apprenticeship doesn’t magically happen, it stems from hard work both in the classroom during Education Block and out at Work Experience (WEX) during Industry Block. Year 10 is a year of exploration and pivotal to finding individualised goals—personally and professionally. To succeed in the workplace, Year 10 young people take the first steps in identifying their likes and dislikes in trades by trying a series of unpaid WEX opportunities. This allows them to hone their skills, focus on goals, and network with businesses which, in the future, may offer a paid sign-up to their apprenticeship of choice.
Tanou Siebenmann, Industry Consultant from the Sunshine Coast campus, discusses the importance of WEX for Year 10 young people.
Work experience in Year 10 provides young people with the opportunity to explore various industries and vocations before they refine their focus on pursuing a particular traineeship or apprenticeship during Years 11 and 12. Safety and courage are two values AITC young people learn to embrace during this year, building an understanding of workplace health and safety and adopting some new confidence when engaging with industry. Most importantly, young people will learn something about their personal brand, motivation, self-empowerment and discovery of their “why?”.
Work experience is a way for young people to begin to understand industry expectations in terms of employability skills, and how to put these into practice with their work experience providers. Young people also learn which industries appeal to them.
They are empowered to secure their own work experience and equipped with some communication tools to support their efforts in sourcing and securing a placement. They are also presented with key industry contacts who have an established relationship with the Australian Industry Trade College and offer both work experience and schoolbased traineeship and/or apprenticeship positions. Young people are encouraged to use the Industry Team as a support
resource when obtaining their work experience and be reassured that the team will walk alongside them during their search for a placement.
The Industry Team will open productive communication with young people and revisit aspects of their rookies training, to reinforce their motivation. The Industry Team will also tap into their bank of existing work experience provider contacts and give young people a “leg up” by connecting them with providers who are genuinely invested in the AITC model.
Australia has a growing list of skill shortages and a wealth of emerging domestic talent. With its industry education model, the AITC is in a privileged position to empower young people to gain early exposure to growth industries while also successfully completing their Year 12 Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE). Enthusiasm is always encouraged, particularly with a model that creates increased industry immersion, and with this some Year 10 young people wish to pursue employment outcomes prematurely. Whilst we appreciate a level of ambition, we also require a level of patience from young people so that they are not jeopardising momentum with their education and have a healthy amount of exploration time in work experience to support a well-informed decision when it comes time to pursue their chosen vocation.
I think it is also important to acknowledge these are 15-year-old young people who are launching into, and being exposed to, an adult workforce. Keeping this in mind is also critical to their journey.
DELIBERATELY DIFFERENT.
blueprint australian industry trade college
WORK EXPERIENCE KEEPS KAYNE’S CAREER IN THE FAST LANE
Kayne in Year 10 is working at PJR Performance Gold Coast for work experience. “I’m helping build race cars and build high horsepower V8 for Holden and Ford. I come from a family of motorbike racers and they have built street cars and race cars. I was working on them from a young age so I have some experience. I called them up and they took me on. Kayne says he’s going to keep going “until I get an apprenticeship offer and hopefully pursue the career for the rest of my life.”
His work experience at PJR has taught Kayne how everything works behind the scenes. “The quality they put into cars and how careful they are, how much effort they put in. They don’t miss a thing. They do everything from servicing to building,” says Kayne.
The AITC values of courage and respect have helped Kayne along his career journey. “I had the courage to contact an exclusive business,” he says. “I also respect other people’s cars — they’re other people’s babies.”
“I love work experience—I highly encourage it. If you think about doing mechanics it’s worth it. Work experience gives you a taste of your industry. You don’t know what you want to do until you’ve tried it.”
The comments from the PJR team have been exceptional, “Kayne was excellent and we would gladly have him back again, he learnt quick and was eager to jump in and learn as much as possible. He was on time every day and followed the opening procedure with little help every morning.”
Ryan Hurley, Service Manager at Brown and Hurley—The Big Truck People, Darra, discusses the importance of work experience.
LEARN MORE
BROWN AND HURLEY GUIDE YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM
DELIBERATELY DIFFERENT.
The AITC partners with exceptional and established companies to help young people explore potential careers through work experience. In Year 10, this is a crucial step towards fulfilling their requirements in their Industry Block and paves the way to success for Years 11 and 12. It also helps our young people inch further towards finding their career path and defining and demonstrating their strength of character by using the AITC values.
Young people are supported in those first steps to find work experience so they can gain confidence while finding their career footing. When they find their footing, they will be exposed to a series of life changing experiences with the ultimate aim of being signed-up as a school-based apprentice.
Ryan Hurley, Service Manager at Brown and Hurley, Darra has been with the company for 19 years. His company is an active partner with the AITC for work experience opportunities.
“Work experience is significant because most young people have just come out of school. They’re used to a school environment and we need to get them into the workforce and get them ready for it. So, a bit of practical experience is really good,” explains Ryan. “It’s good to gauge what they’re like so that’s why we find it important to get them in and get their hands dirty and see if they enjoy it too.”
“We start them off with a lot of observing but usually servicing — we’ll get them in there with a grease gun and greasing the vehicle. AITC students are very good at engaging with our mechanics. Our guys are always happy to have AITC work experience students here and have the next generation coming through.”
Young people from the AITC already have some product knowledge, “so when we get them through it’s good to see them and see what they’re like. Hopefully at the end of it they will get an apprenticeship through us,” says Ryan.
Brown and Hurley offer two specialised apprenticeships— one in an auto electrical role and the other in heavy commercial. A talented young person could be signed up to a four-year Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology or Electrical Technology.
To achieve an apprenticeship Ryan says the company “will favour someone” who “shows enthusiasm and commits themselves 100% to the person they’re working with.”
blueprint australian industry trade college
A gateway to a new era in industry with the AITC
THE GATEWAY TO INDUSTRY SCHOOLS PROGRAM IS A KEY INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR THE QUEENSLAND DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT, SMALL BUSINESS AND TRAINING. IT ALIGNS WITH THE DEPARTMENT’S VISION FOR ALL QUEENSLANDERS TO HAVE THE SKILLS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE AND PROSPER IN THE ECONOMY.
The program builds partnerships between schools and industry to enable young people to acquire the knowledge, skills and attributes to participate effectively in the Queensland economy. The program also provides opportunities for industry and the education sector to work together to deliver outcomes for students, local communities and businesses.
Students participating in the program are exposed to a range of learning experiences to assist them in their career choices and pathways to employment.
Each project is led by industry organisations which develop and implement tailored school engagement activities in line with their industry’s key skills and workforce priorities. Industry organisations choose how the industry specific projects operate and the type and level of engagement with participating schools.
There are 10 industry sectors involved in the Gateway to Industry Schools program:
Advanced manufacturing
Aerospace
Agribusiness
Building and construction 10Community services (new industry) Food, wine and tourism Health (new industry) Information and communication technology (new industry)
Minerals and energy
Screen and media (new industry)
IN AUGUST 2021, THE AITC WAS RECOGNISED AS A GATEWAY SCHOOL FOR THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.
Administered by the industry’s peak body in Queensland, Construction Skills Queensland, membership in the Gateway Schools program provides ongoing para-professional opportunities for Year 12 graduates. It also provides access to key stakeholders within the building and construction industry for current and future students at the AITC who are pursuing a career in the building and construction industry. This relationship is also expected to assist with structured work experience. Key industry stakeholders, such as Hutchinson Builders, offer a unique placement program exclusively for young people attending a Gateway School for this industry.
In September 2021, the Sunshine Coast campus of the AITC was recognised as a Gateway School as a member of the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA). This is managed by the Queensland Resources Council, and supported by industry leaders such as BHP, Mt Isa Mines and BMA. Australia’s largest and most successful industry-led, schools/industry initiative, the Academy’s
programs and experiences broaden students’ and teachers’ knowledge of the resources sector. This too provides a talent pipeline of employees into VET and STEM-related careers, with a strong focus on female and indigenous students.
QMEA constantly develops and refreshes exciting hand-on programs to keep pace with the skills needed for the careers of the future in trades and professions. They also support teachers to ensure they are confident in bringing STEM-based topics to students in an engaging way.
The Community Services Gateway to Industry Schools project is designed to advance the opportunities for youth in Queensland’s growing community services sector through cohesive locally relevant partnerships. In October of 2021, with the consultation of campus leaders and members of this gateway schools program, the AITC has submitted an expression of interest for our Ipswich campus to join the program and provide ongoing opportunities in this industry for our young people.
From community care to youth justice, from homelessness to disability support, the community services sector serves as an entrance to enduring diverse careers.
However connecting to industry and gaining experience is often difficult for young people and schools.
Working with young people, schools, industry employers, trainers, universities and families to ensure a strong training and experiential pathway for tomorrow’s community services leaders, the project builds on the following principles:
Discovery – Boosting awareness of young people, their families and school professionals through access to current information and professional development on the community services sector.
Experiential learning – Exposure to meaningful experiences to ‘learn and do’ and allow young people a real-life view of working with, and in, the community.
Connections that count – Access directly to prospective employers, vocational trainers and universities regarding ways to gain an advantage for futures in this sector.
Clarity – Ability to plan the right pathways and navigate the immediate and future steps to gain qualifications and skills while still at school and post-school.
Differentiation – Preparation that fast tracks school leavers for employment or tertiary specialisation and identifies participating schools as local launching grounds for community services careers.
DELIBERATELY DIFFERENT.
Since September 2020, the AITC has been developing a relationship with Aviation Australia to assist in providing training and employment outcomes for our young people. During the process of working with key personnel at Aviation Australia, it was suggested that the AITC’s proposed campus in Brisbane, along with the Toowoomba campus, may benefit by joining the Aerospace Gateway to Schools industry program. In October 2021, after meeting with some of the companies who sit on the board of this project, the AITC has submitted an expression of interest for these campuses to join this gateway to industry program. The Queensland Government is committed to supporting the state’s rapidly developing and innovative aerospace industry. The Gateway to Industry Schools program for Aerospace has proven essential in meeting the Queensland Government’s aim of transitioning young people from school to work while completing school and gaining formal qualifications.
Selected Queensland secondary schools (government and non-government) engage and partner with aerospace industries, tertiary education and training providers to inspire students to consider a skilled, diverse and sustainable career or pathway into to the exciting aerospace industry sector.
Acceptance into this program will provide exclusive access to industry-based programs for young people, including managed work experience, as well as potential access to employment opportunities with supporting business such as QANTAS, Boeing and Airbus.
The AITC Future Schools and Partnerships team are constantly investigating opportunities for our young people to develop industry specific learning outcomes whilst on campus as well as broadening access to training and industry opportunities off campus. Put simply, membership in Gateway School programs opens doors for everyone. We are incredibly excited to see how these initial relationships grow and develop.
