Ethan Zammit is still finishing high school, but he’s already taken serious strides towards his dream career. In fact, he’s been working towards it since an early age. 

“I've been playing drums in church and doing live sound since I was 5, so that's where the passion started.”

Ethan began his vocational education journey in Year 9, taking on a Certificate III in Live Production and Services.

“I started the entertainment industry course as soon as I could,” says Ethan. “I absolutely loved it and it gave me a huge confidence boost – especially after winning the NSW Training Awards VET in Schools Student of the Year award in Year 10.”

With dream career opportunities unfolding before him, Ethan decided to focus on his vocational qualification rather than pursuing an ATAR. “I started looking into universities or further education for the kind of the stuff I'm interested in and I saw that applicants could get in with a Certificate III equivalent, which I already had,” says Ethan.

Ethan has gained a lot of real-world experience in the entertainment industry since completing his qualification, being appointed as the AV and IT coordinator of The Parish of St John XXIII, and managing the lighting for dance shows, are two of his biggest accomplishments.

“I was very proud of myself because the training had literally brought me to that point.”

With his foundation of experience gained through VET, Ethan has his sights firmly set on his dreams. “My plan is to go into the industry for a few years, get that experience and work at a few venues so I can build my career as a venue technician,” says Ethan. “I want to have my own space where I manage it and facilitate people coming in and hiring it. I think that could be a really cool thing.”