Narrator: If you want to help your child on their career journey, you can support them in building a range of employability skills that are highly transferable across all careers.

Employability skills support young people to work in varied roles across all different industries taking the stress off them when they are not yet sure about their path. The best way to load up on these skills is taking on a casual or part-time job.

For example, hospitality is one of the larger industries that employs young unskilled workers. It's an industry that is undergoing unprecedented change. It is where young people can develop a range of employability skills that will set them up for the best chance of success in any career path and help them navigate their daily lives.

Diana Foye: The changes I've noticed in Brooke since she started working in hospitality is an increased confidence. She enjoys coming to work, but also communicating with positions of authority.

Brooke Steinmann: The best part of working in hospitality is learning new skills and being around the team.

Julianne Murtagh-Fraser: The biggest one for Liam has been building of his confidence, and his ability to operate autonomously, and plan solutions for himself.

Liam Fraser: It's also really helped with my financial literacy as well as time management.

Narrator: Jobs in hospitality are flexible. Meaning they're a great way to earn money over the summer or fit around study schedules, but they can also be more than just a summer gig taking careers to the next level.

Liam Fraser: It's definitely something that you can see yourself doing long term. I attended TAFE New South Wales when I was in high school to do a barista course to get a little bit of pocket money. And then when I wanted to upskill, I did my responsible service of alcohol and my responsible conduct of gambling.

Julianne Murtagh-Fraser: One of the most obvious skills that he picked up was the ability to deal with cash. Real financial literacy at its most base level. Also being able to use that financial literacy to look at budgeting and look how business really work.

Liam Fraser: The value I found was being able to work with industry professionals in a really kind and supportive environment. It's fun. You get to make a lot of new friends and you can make good money while you're doing it.

Narrator: From providing some spending money or highly valued employability skills to finding a lifelong passion, a job in hospitality can lead almost anywhere.

Julianne Murtagh-Fraser: As a parent, I would suggest to other parents that they actively encourage their kids to look at hospitality as an avenue for employment. It's a fabulous career for anyone to have. You can leave your job, travel around the world, and ensure that you've got employment wherever you go with those skills.

Siam Flanagan: I would encourage anyone studying at the moment wondering what they wanna go into to consider the employability skills that you need because hospitality can definitely give you those employability skills to get you where you need to go in your career.

Working in hospitality has given me definitely confidence, people skills, skills that I can use throughout my whole life.

Julianne Murtagh-Fraser: Language isn't the barrier. Having these skills is the barrier. And if you take those skills with you, you can work anywhere.

Narrator: So if you are looking for an industry to help your child to build employability skills for future success, why not start with hospitality?

Sian Flanagan: I chose to work in hospitality because it really just gave me a lot of freedom. Not only was it a job where I was making money, but it was also really social and really fun and I enjoyed doing it.

When I was in high school and I was interested in working my mum actually encouraged me to get into hospitality. I started work experience when I was 14, I’ve done waitressing, you know, bar back and then also now gone into bartending.

It’s something that is really flexible. You can use it to work around school hours, extracurricular stuff that you have to do. And it also gives you a whole range of skills that you can use in your career.

Isaac Nix: From a young age I always had a passion for food and cooking, and I, I thought of it as more of a hobby, but as I kind of had the opportunity to work in hospitality venues and do cooking courses at school, I found it was more of a passion. So I decided after I finished year 12, I started an apprenticeship as a chef.

Joshua Grech: Hospitality was always one of my favourite subjects. It was my highest earning in high school earning me second in my entire class. I’ve been in the hospitality industry for about five years now, from my first job as a janitor, all the way to my current job as a bartender, training to be a manager at the Peakhurst.

Alice Bui: I was not really sure what I wanted to be when I was in high school. So, I got a lot of advice from my parents, my seniors, and my success coach at school as well. So, by that time I found out that my passion is about the people, so that’s why I joined the hospitality industry.

Vicki Lawrence: Having been in the industry now for 11 years, what I love the most is the exposure to people. I love meeting new people every day. I love creating memories for people and being part of that journey that they are going to remember forever.

Sian Flanagan: One of the cool things about my job is I get to interact with celebrities, serve celebrities, which is something that you usually have to pay to meet them, um, which is really cool.

Alice Bui: I leave my shift with a smile on my face because I am able to deliver my best performance to create their memorable event, such as a wedding or birthday.

Vicki Lawrence: The best thing about working in hospitality is just the flexibility and the opportunities that you get to experience. Being able to travel, being able to meet a whole bunch of new people and getting perks like discounted food and beverage and accommodation is awesome.

Isaac Nix: As I coming to the final year of my apprenticeship, I’m definitely interested in moving abroad and working in different countries to really develop and hone my skills as a chef. Further down the line I’d definitely be interested in opening my own restaurant and really showing the world what I have to offer.

Joshua Grech: After about 8 months or so of committing myself to the Peakhurst, covering every vacancy that I can, and, you know, showing that I have something to contribute, my superiors were able to provide me with the opportunity to do qualification courses in order to advance my career. I was able to undertake further studies, including a cert 4 in hospitality, and now currently I’m doing a diploma in leadership and management.

Alice Bui: I studied my master study degree in international hotel management in at the Blue Mountains international hotel management school. I chose that school because it has a great reputation in the country.

Vicki Lawrence: I got into hospitality through TAFE NSW doing my advanced diploma of tourism, and so, I got offered a job as soon as I finished that through the intercontinental hotels group. So having TAFE NSW offer us the opportunity to work with those employers was really beneficial for me to be able to get my foot in the door.

So students who are interested in working in hospitality, my advice would be to try and just apply, go and get a RSA certificate or RCG certificate, do a barista course, a lot of those initial training courses really help to get your foot in the door as well.

Isaac Nix: So if you’re the type of person who is creative, loves coming up with new dishes and new ideas, likes a, you know, faced paced environment or slow-paced environment, there’s a lot of opportunities in the hospitality world.

I’d also really recommend considering a school-based apprenticeship. It’s a fantastic way to quickly enter the hospitality world while not being fully immersed in it. You get the opportunity to be a chef, learn the skills, but you still can step back if you need to.

Sian Flanagan: So I would encourage anyone studying at the moment, wondering what they want to go into to consider the employability skills that you need, because hospitality can provide those skills. Working in hospitality has given me definitely confidence, people skills, skills that I can use throughout my whole life.

Jess Ryan: Working in agriculture is very rewarding for me because I know I get to play a part in sustaining and growing society.

I was grown into the agriculture industry, always loved it. And as I got older it was something that I always new that I wanted to do. Through high school I worked towards everything ag, and then when I left school, got into farming, learned a heap of new things.

Tom McPherson: My title is Accounts Officer and I currently work at a, uh, Ag Tech startup. I made a connection with someone in the industry and they told me about an opportunity that had opened up, that they were kind of looking for someone to fill, and I was lucky enough to get it.

Adrian Englefield: I loved driving tractors and everything to do with machinery, but that very quickly developed into an interest in plant sciences and botany, but also a passion for extension and the ability to take pieces of information that can support farmers and can support their production systems or even improve their production systems.

Jess Ryan: For my electives in Year 11 and 12 I ended up choosing ag. I did biology, ended up doing multimedia as well, which helped with my computer skills to do now.

Emma Pearson: My school didn’t offer primary industries, so while I was doing my Year 12, I also went to TAFE one day a week and studied my Cert 2 and Cert 3 in agriculture.

Tom McPherson: I study a Bachelor of Science – Agriculture at the University of Sydney. There’s a really good mix of kind of field work, practical work, but also theory.

Joe Kingston: So I left school at Year 10 and then I went studying agriculture at, uh, TAFE NSW. I started off with Certificate 4 and then went onto a Diploma of Agriculture. From there I got to learn all the latest farming techniques.

Dr. Lara Griffin: So most of my students will never, ever work on a farm, outside of doing a little bit of, you know, career work experience type of thing. I am expecting that their jobs could be in agribusiness and management and working with science and technology development, looking at new at new industries, consulting.

I think that the idea that agriculture is digging in the dirt is so far removed from reality now that we have so much automation, we have so many new technologies, particularly in our developed countries. What we need is people who are creating and challenging and want to look at how to do things differently.

Tom McPherson: I think the really great thing about ag is that you can control what you want to get out of it. That the myth of agriculture only being farming is definitely something that comes up a lot. I think I’m a good example of, you know, busting that myth. If you were to put me on a farm I wouldn’t have a clue, I wouldn’t know how to manage that farm, but, it’s about recognising that there are so many other avenues and opportunities in the industry for people that are looking to enter it.

Joe Kingston: Every day is a fun day really, um, that’s the only way I can sum it up, but basically moments that I really enjoy is the end of the day when the sun’s going down. You get to look over your property and your hard work.

Adrian Englefield: From somebody that’s been involved in the agricultural and horticultural sector for nearly 20 years now, my big bit of advice for students out there is that things can change, both for yourself and within the industry. So always be prepared to be flexible, and keep an eye out for those new technologies and new opportunities within any industry.

Tom McPherson: Probably the main piece of advice I would give would be really try to understand what it is, you know, you might be doing in a particular role. You know, some things sound really fancy but when you start them you might find out that you don’t actually enjoy them at all, um, or the other way round, it might sound boring and you really love it. Um, so I think do your research and really figure out what the options are.

Emma Pearson: I really suggest like going to either a TAFE, I also attended TOCAL College. It was absolutely amazing. Gives you hands on experiences in so many different fields of agriculture, that would be the best place to go and really find where your passion is in agriculture.

Jess Ryan: There is just so many gateways within the agricultural industry. It doesn’t matter where you started, it always leads you to somewhere else. It doesn’t matter if you start as tractor operator or a cattle handler or something like that, someone will always see your knowledge and your ability in the agricultural industry and always give you a shot, if you are willing to listen and show that you want to do it, and it will take you places, you’ve just got to be willing to push for it.

Lauren Bartie: I’m really psyched that I got into it because it’s just a dream come true working on films and games, just, it’s a really exciting, fulfilling thing to be doing.

I’ve always thought it was a really interesting industry. I love film and I love games and visual effects always really appealed to me. It is very different for each person, I think it’s one of those industries where everyone has a different background.

Dan Horsfall: Started as just a hobbyist 3d modeller. Just that was something I enjoyed doing in my own time. And then sort of towards the end of Year 12 I decided, hey, this is something I want to do sort of do as a job, started looking into how to do that.

Stephanie Davidson: So I was always interested in animation, um, when I was in Year 12, and I did an animated project for my HSC and one of my tutors at that point said you should really look at turning this into a career.

Darren Keating: Ive been drawing since I was about 5 and I always found watching cartoons and you know, sci-fi on the television really interesting. But I was always drawing all through high school, all through school, and then went and did animation in college. It just was a natural progression.

Jennifer Dickinson: Well there really isn’t a typical day for me, it tends to range all over the place. Within a single day I could be reviewing rough animation, I could be reviewing character layout, I could be discussing scheduling, looking at compositing and final cleanup looks. I’m working together with our production team to basically get the show out there.

David Booth: As a VFX supervisor, a lot of the time we’d end up going on set as well. So you do have opportunities to, let’s say, take some of the crew along, so you might take people to see how we’re shooting a visual effects sequence, whether that be in a studio or location. Then you can see how your shot that you might be working on progress from concept, let’s say, right through to final product. That’s quite, you know, that’s an exciting process.

Lauren Bartie: Rigging’s a really interesting department, but it’s essentially the department before animation. So animation needs essentially sort of digital puppets to move to animate and we are the ones that make the puppets, so we’re responsible for putting on the bones and muscles and controls on the characters that they animate, or any objects and things that are in films and games as well.

Dan Horsfall: I was actually looking more to go down an engineering path, mechanical engineering, that sort of stuff. I was always one of the math oriented kids at school, maths and science. It wasn’t until late Year 11, early Year 12, that I decided I wanted to go down this more creative path. The cool thing about the visual effects industry is the span of roles that exist within that industry. There are math based roles, there are creative based roles, there are leadership roles. It’s very flexible as far as you can change from one role to another as well, quite easily. But there really is so many different ways of implementing the different skills that you’ll learn during high school into this career path.

David Booth: You can be on set, working on a blue screen, working, uh, capturing all the information that’s necessary, or you could be in front of a computer. You could be developing the look or style or animation or movement of a character that’s in a major file, or you could be someone putting those shots together and making it so that you’ve got a final scene. So, yeah, there’s a lot of opportunity, lot of diversity.

Stephanie Davidson: You can work anywhere in the world. Animated content gets created internationally and huge studios are all across the world like Spain, Canada, and even New Zealand. You have the ability to take your gear with you and do freelance work. So you can either work at a studio internationally or you can go anywhere you want. As long as you’ve got power you can do your job.

Tim Schultz: It’s one of those industries where you have to have a real passion for it, and uh, you’re working with a large group of people. A lot of times you have to be a team player. So really a lot of it, the technical skills can be taught but a lot of it comes down to passion that students might have and their willingness to to learn new things and, um, take on new challenges and, um, sort of be able to deliver under pressure, but also work with a team to create something sort of new and exciting each time.

Jennifer Dickinson: The main quality that I like to see in an up and coming artist is the ability to take feedback and then extrapolate it going forward. Because no one comes into the industry knowing how to do everything. Everyone comes in learning. Everyone continues learning all the way through their career. The more that you are able to sort of learn something and keep applying it going forward, is probably the main thing that we look for.

David Booth: For students who want to get into this industry I would suggest speak to their careers advisor at school and from that, then I would look at all the other schools are available and the TAFE’s. Do your research, work out where you feel comfortable and what attracts you to the industry and then apply for any of those positions that are available.

Dan Horsfall: Absolutely practice in your own time. Don’t wait for someone to ask you to do something. Constantly refine your skills. If you don’t know something, Google it, look it up, how do I do this, watch YouTube videos. There’s so many people doing this now, that it really is getting easier and easier to teach yourself.

Darren Keating: Someone asked me the other day, what’s my dream career? I don’t have a dream career because I’m doing it. Like, there isn’t anything else for me. I could be a singer or a dancer but it’s not going to give me the same thing as being able to create whole worlds. That’s the benefit of doing this is you’re creating other universes that nobody else has ever seen before, and that’s the really exciting thing.

Dan Horsfall: One of the most exciting parts about this industry is just the rate of growth in it. So well, when I started 6 years ago, we were making cool stuff, we make trailers for video games and in game cinematics and things like that which is very cool. It’s cool to work on these games that you play in your spare time anyway. But these days pushing further and further beyond these cinematics we’re doing virtual reality experiences, we’re doing simulations, we’re doing Netflix series, it’s, it’s growing at such a rapid rate that it’s really exciting to see where it’s going to go next.

Tim Schultz: We’re all aware that the world’s changing and, um, the idea of a digital world that’s laid over the top of the physical world is going to play a huge part in content moving forward, and I think the students who are wanting to get into this space, there’s so many new ways to create content and so many avenues that, ah, really its, it’s a new, a whole new way of working, a whole new ecosystem and so everyone’s, sort of, on the same page really, at the start now, so, um, it’s a great time to jump into the industry.

Jennifer Dickson: Every now and again you remember that you’re working with these amazing creatives from all around the world and you’re making content that you know people are going to be really passionate about. And seeing the fan reaction when that comes back, and seeing people absolutely losing their minds over the quality of the show that’s being made, over the scripts, over the characters and seeing them bring all of their own interpretations that you’ve been working on, to me that’s probably the most exciting thing. Just creating art that everybody seems to resonate with.

Lauren Bartie: The fact that I actually get to appear in titles and stuff at the all credits at the end is just really awesome. Some of my workmates have, like, walls of all of the films that they have worked on and they’ve got just like, walls of fantasy films and superhero films and just everything, and it’s just a really thing to be working on and be, like, a part of.

Zachary Summers: The most exciting aspect about this industry is there's just challenges. You got to think on your feet. You got to adapt. At the end of the day, it's a good feeling to know that you've helped someone out.

I got inspired into being a mechanic from the movie cars. I used to watch it a lot as a kid. Since that movie, I just, I've always loved cars, had a passion for it, and I'm here now, so I'm happy.

Bridget Pate: I grew up on a family farm, always helping dad out, fixing all our gear, and I was pretty handy at it, so I thought I'd make a career of it.

Alexander Eung: During high school, most of my mates, they're into cars and they always tell me, "Oh, you should become a mechanic.”. You get to mod your own cars and I used to watch F1’s a lot. They inspired me to become a mechanic.

CJ Van Rensburg: It's a very hands-on type of job. If you like working with your hands and you like being busy all day and, and having something to do. And maybe if you also like seeing that what you're doing is making a difference.

For instance, I really enjoy seeing that you know, sometimes you bring a bike in that doesn't run, that's been sitting for a while and then you get it running and the customer's really, really happy because, oh my God, you've, you've got this thing to work.

One of my favourite bits are taking bikes for test rides. So obviously you have to be sensible, but it's really, really fun riding different bikes. If you're in the market for a new bike, you get to sort of test ride all of them before you buy it so I quite enjoy doing that.

Bridget Pate: I work on forklifts and work on dozers, skidies, bobcats, all the above. There's heaps of gear to work on. You don't have to have the big muscles or anything. There's always a helping hand. Plant mechanic's probably the best industry to be in.

Stephen Wood: For me, the most exciting part is learning about it. I've always been interested in mechanical stuff, so being hands-on with it, especially engines, doing spare parts and just being physical with your body. So just having something different to do every day is just great.

CJ Van Rensburg: Uh, so I went to TAFE at Ultimo. Um, they were fantastic. They are really, really passionate about what they're teaching. They love interacting with the students and if you are engaging with them, then they'll pretty much just focus on you and, and, and help you work through everything that you need.

But you do have to stay engaged and you do have to ask questions and actually be involved in what they're teaching. But they're very fantastic and very knowledgeable.

Alexander Eung: At school is focusing on like five or six other subjects, for TAFE you only study one subject and just focus on that one subject, which is kind of easier and ease on your mindset.

Sam Jones: Auto trades are great. They've, it's been a great career for me. It's been able to enhance my skills and it's been able to take me to, to a lot of different places. And even just seeing the, the technology change and the, the evolution in technology with that has been a really great thing.

Bridget Pate: This is a male dominated industry, but there's all the blokes there, like they're all supportive. They're all great. Don't be scared to get involved and there's always people there that are willing to help. Even if you don't think that you are mechanically minded, just having a look at it, doing a couple courses and stuff like that, it'll all click in.

CJ Van Rensburg: Definitely would recommend this career to anyone who has an interest or a passion for bikes. If you’re involved in motorcycle mechanics, it's a lot more involved. Everyone knows everyone, it's a very small industry, especially if you take part in things like charity rides or pack days and stuff like that. It's quite involved and everyone's sort of intermingled.

Alexander Eung: One of the coolest things is working with, uh, electric cars and EVs, like the car behind me. In the future, we'll be working on these cars more because the government is trying to, um, reduce the emissions. That's why we're seeing more EVs on the streets.

Zachary Summers: I see myself in 15 years' time, just kind of a managing sort of job. Hopefully one day I do see myself being the boss.

Stephen Wood: Once I have the knowledge behind me, I would love to be able to teach, uh, apprentices and guide them.

Alexander Eung: I'm planning to start my own business, start off small first, become a mobile mechanic, gain more experience, then start opening my, um, own shop.

Sam Jones: So one piece of advice I'd give to students who are looking to get into the automotive industry, you've gotta be passionate about it. If you're unsure about it, maybe do a TVET course or a pre-VOC course before you commit yourself to four years of an apprenticeship.

If you love technology or you embrace technology and you like things like, uh, autonomy, robotics, design and tech, computers, vehicles are a hundred percent going that way and we're only going to see that progression coming to more mainstream. And it would be great to be able to, to get more people who are passionate to be part of the industry, uh, in regards to working on vehicles of the future.

There's plenty of great places to work. There's plenty of great material and equipment to work on. So yeah, give it a crack.

Zachary Summers: I would recommend this career to students because if you look out on the road, how many cars are on the road, there's always going to be a job. You're not going to be short of any job and so it's a very guaranteed job. You're always going to have something to do. Cars are just getting better and better. So it keeps evolving.

Joseph Stephen: If big data was a superpower, it gives you the eyes to see the future. If you're a person that loves unseen problems, things which have wide scale opportunities for massive impact, then this industry is definitely for you.

I started in this industry about two years ago when I started off as a cloud solution architect, and I really wanted to delve more into what data and AI, um, is really all about.

Reva Kanduri: I actually am a software engineer prior to this data life and, uh, when I moved from Singapore to Australia, I wanted to change my career. I used online courses like Udemy, Coursera, and other options.

Katie Ford: It wasn't a direct route into technology for me. I did law after school and history and ended up in government, in public policy, which I loved. What drew me, I think, to the technology industry was it's all about shaping the future and a better future.

Reva Kanduri: Big data is like an umbrella term. If you put the, what the actual terminology means, uh, aside for a minute, but how it is used, that's where the real power comes into picture.

Katie Ford: So, a good way to think about data is think about every device that you use in your daily life. So, if you're a student, you might be using your, your laptop for learning purposes. Everything you click on, every answer you provide online provides data, right, about how you answered a question, when you looked at it. Um, and that gives us an insight into how you might be learning, where there might be problems.

You can take that data, look at trends, look at how things are changing over time. But most importantly, I think, look at the best ways to intervene, as we talk about, you know, how you get involved to improving the learning experience.

Joseph Stephen: You'll find me, some days I'll be going into the office, meeting customers, getting to talk face to face on a solution that will impact the next generation of applications, and just getting to work in teams, um, in order to achieve a common goal. Or that it, it could look like me staying at home, talking to someone from the United States on a feature that's coming up, that, that would be really beneficial, um, to the work that I do. So, it varies greatly.

Reva Kanduri: I specifically remember that my secondary school, I was pretty excited with maths. I really liked mathematics, solving mathematics problems and more than physics or other subjects.

Joseph Stephen: I Studied a Bachelor of Computer Science at the University of Sydney. You know, as it expects going into a field which you genuinely enjoy and like, you know, you get to do and work on things which you like doing.

Katie Ford: University is definitely not your only option, right? So, TAFE New South Wales have great courses around data and engineering that are very worthwhile you're exploring. There's also a great online content, which is free, right? So, if you look at things like LinkedIn Learning, we have Microsoft Learn. There's a lot of free online things that anyone can tap into.

Reva Kanduri: Big data is definitely going to stay for longer because a lot of industry technologies, they still feel that data science and AI is just kicking off. The problems are numerous. The solutions can be numerous, but more importantly, you'll have a lot of fun if you enjoy working in that space.

Katie Ford: Every problem we have, whether it's climate change, whether it's water quality, whether it's our environment, whether it's addressing things like homelessness, there are huge opportunities to use data to create data driven policy. Data is really fundamental to answering those questions.

So, when it comes to thinking about if you want to work in this industry, the great thing is you can come from almost any background. It's a very diverse industry and I love that. Technology is always evolving. So, there's no one key book you can learn. What I'd recommend that you focus on is key skills for the 21st century. Think about the, the overall skills you bring, and I think just having a passion for learning, a love of learning, and a skill for learning, that's the best skill you can have.

Joseph Stephen: I would recommend big data to students because really it, it is the future. Being able to analyse things on a global scale has so much impact. You know, there is data all around us and it's completely up to you what to do with this data and how we interpret this data, cause that's really what's going to define the future.

Leanna David: Personally I do feel like it is for me, working with people, caring for people, tending to their needs, I feel like it’s very important for me.

(music plays over clip of workers)

In my career I do want to pursue something in the healthcare industry. I really love the residents, their uniqueness, you really connect to them through food as well. I love when they smile, especially when I remember what they like. That’s kind of the highlight of my job, just talking to them, makes me really happy and that also makes their day.

Riley Scott: It took me quite a while to find what felt right for me, but, yeah, once I found the care industry I knew, yeah, that was where I belonged and I felt very much at home there. My first job in the care industry was in aged care. I did a college course, did work experience and I though I’d give disability a try. So I did a college course in disability. I got my disability cert 4 and then, um, work experience in disability and yup, been there ever since.

Thea Sison: I got into the industry because my mum recommended to me due to my personality and so I did try and give it a go and went to TAFE. I love working with the older generation and getting to know their stories and learn from them. It’s quite a big thing for me.

Nicole Hoste: I started in the care sector, uh, as kind of a late career change. I wanted to actually give back to the community, so I really wanted to do something very meaningful and what better industry to work in than, uh, supporting others.

Benjamin French: It does bring me, uh, a lot of joy. When you see someone, um, achieve their goal, there’s a real sense of accomplishment and a real sense of understanding that, uh,, you’ve been a part of something special that’s bigger than yourself, that’s not just self-serving but entirely at the service of somebody else.

Riley Scott: The most exciting aspect about the care industry for me is a lot of new opportunities and new things happening, um, but for me it just always comes back to spending time with the guys, it’s the most rewarding, the most fulfilling. Yeah, no matter what changes, that’s the constant that I’m there for.

Nicole Hoste: The main benefits to entering the care sector is the, the myriad of, uh, career paths. It’s actually quite infinite, the variety of things you can do within the sector and the ability for those skills and knowledge to be transferable into any role. There’s not a lot of sectors out there that are exactly like that.

Thea Sison: I know that I’m making a difference in their lives, even if it’s just a simple one by making them smile or even just bringing them the newspaper. I feel like it has a lot of, um, meaning to them knowing that there’s someone there looking out for them.

Leanna David: Throughout high school I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I wasn’t picky about my subjects either. I just knew that I wanted to complete high school.

Thea Sison: So, I studied at TAFE at Meadowbank, Cert 4 leisure and lifestyle, and what I found at TAFE is that it’s very hands on. They want you to succeed, not just theoretically, but practically, which helped me a lot, making it easier for me to integrate into the workforce.

Nicole Hoste: I studied a Diploma of Community Services at TAFE. Studying through TAFE actually really suited my lifestyle as well, like work, the content was really interesting, the support I got was great, it was a really good option.

Riley Scott: So some of the fun things we do, yeah we, ah, do lots of activities, bowling and movies and, uh, big picnic all together, barbeques, big walks, so it’s a lot of fun hanging out with everybody.

Thea Sison: We hold concerts and live entertainment. We try and bring all of the residents, where they enjoy to dance or socialise.

Nicole Hoste: It’s a real privilege to be involved in somebody’s life, so somebody to allow you to be able to help, um, support them, to mentor them and to really be an advocate for their choices.

Benjamin French: When entering into, um, work like this, you have to sort of come in with the attitude of I want to do something that’s bigger than myself, that is, ah, essentially in service of somebody else. Step outside of your comfort zone and trying to, sort of, focus on being able to help others be able to reach their full potential.

Nicole Hoste: I would recommend a career in the care sector because the opportunities are endless. There’s no reason why you can’t do anything in this sector. The career paths are varied. You could be studying accountancy and work in this sector. You can, you can be, uh, studying anything from medicine, physiotherapy, speech pathologist, any of those allied health services. But you can also enter the sector as a support worker and then follow my career path into operational leadership and become, uh, you know, uh, into people and culture and end up owning your own business.

People need a sense of purpose and people want to care and be kind and this is a great sector to be able to give back.

Riley Scott: I’d recommend the care industry to students because it provides them meaningful work and a sense of fulfilment. When you’re young there’s a sense of pressure to decide right away what you want to do and commit to it, but until you give it a go, you won’t know what’s for you. I would recommend thinking about the care industry and if you are an empathetic person and you think giving enjoyment to other people would be fulfilling for you, I would recommend trying it out.

Leanna David: Some advice that I would give to students that are willing to join the care industry is to just go for it. Seek some experience in this industry. It doesn’t matter what role, as long as you seek some experience, it’s a good start. You provide care that really gives this close connection to you and the residents. It’s a nice feeling, having a close connection with them.

Erika Salmon: The best thing about cybersecurity is you always have the opportunity to build and apply, uh, different things and actually see how it affects your organization and your end users in real time.

I was originally studying at university and I was taking some political science classes on the side just out of interest, and one of them mentioned the concept cyber warfare. I thought, whoa, this sounds really cool. So, I started doing some tech classes there, uh, and then I switched over to TAFE because that just, sort of, suited my interest better. TAFE was a lot more practical, which is what I wanted. And then I got a internship at the end of my first year there and eventually started working full-time.

Elena Scifleet: I started off working as a junior software developer and after that I started going into quality assurance as a quality assurance specialist. I was looking for vulnerabilities within systems and that what is now potential vulnerability management. And after that, I studied up a little bit. So I have completed a Cert IV in cybersecurities routine, and I got my first role as the cybersecurity analyst, and I worked my way from there.

Michael McKinnon: My entry was first of all into IT, and what happened was I ended up becoming a software engineer and I was building, uh, applications and then I was building internet, e-commerce applications. And those applications that I was building were getting hacked all the time. They're getting compromised and I thought, this is a really fascinating thing that's happening here. I really wanted to outsmart the attackers if I could in some way. And so, I really started to look into how this was all working, and then I kind of developed a passion in cybersecurity and that's how I got into the industry.

Elena Scifleet: My typical day is a lot of collaborations with other teams, coming up with great ideas and implementing it. Also ensuring that the training that I create is very relevant to cybersecurity industry.

Michael Warnock: There's always something happening in the world we are in. Part of a company there’s about 45 staff in our business, so there's an array of activities we do as a group, but then there's a lot of engagement out with our, our customers and our partners so that really gives you exposure to, um, a lot of different industries and sectors and people who are facing a different array of cyber activity and cyber threat.

Erika Salmon: When I was in high school, almost all my subjects were humanities. I think I only had math really, the others were, you know, like legal studies, economics, modern history, and English extension two. The good thing is it has taught me how to write and how to communicate.

Michael McKinnon: If your subject choices are technology based or maths and science based, that's great and maybe you'll go into a technical pathway. Um, but if you've got humanity style subjects and particularly any sort of legal experience, that's also a huge benefit to the cybersecurity industry as well.

Elena Scifleet: I have started from certificate four in cybersecurity through TAFE. Best part about studying a TAFE is that you do get hands-on approach. So you get to actually go and play with different devices, you get to experience how to use a scene, so it's extremely critical building out the skills and not just the knowledge.

Erika Salmon: So I started off my career in internships and then I eventually progressed to a grad role, and now I'm where I am where I am a manager.

Amit Chaubey: Sometimes you have to take the first step, and the first step would be paid or unpaid, but then once you start working in the professional world, you will meet the different people and then you'll start learning along over the period of time.

Eventually, you will realize that even when you came to the industry, you are not knowing anything, and suddenly two years down the line, you know so many people in the industry, you actually have a lot of the skillset developed. So it, it'll be a shift, but I would say the shift is good.

Michael Warnock: Yeah, the main advice I'd have absolutely spend time with your career advisor. They're there for a reason. They're to help shape your, your learning both at school and also for the, the future years after. Join networks, have a look at social media platforms. There's many of those around. There's a lot happening in the cyber realm and, uh, immerse yourself in, in what's happening in the industry. Stay across a lot of the, the, the relevant newspapers and news articles. There's always something happening in cyber. That will help when you present yourself to a future employer. That knowledge of what's happening in the industry is a, is a really important attribute to bring to the table.

Elena Scifleet: At the moment there's a, a huge shortage of female representation at industry and it's always been like that. So I definitely would like to encourage young women to consider cybersecurity as a profession. The image of the people wearing the hoodies is a long in the past now. People like myself, uh, are what represents cybersecurity industry Today.

I would recommend a career in cybersecurity because it's a lot of fun. It's extremely diverse career, and it's also very in demand. It is at the forefront of the technology at the moment. So by entering cybersecurity field, you do get opportunities to experience this new frontier of technology.

Amit Chaubey: Next 15, 20 years is a lot of demand for cyber professional. So if you have that right skillset, then actually you will get a good paying job. You will be working with cutting edge technology. There's a lot of good companies across the globe and you will be possibly working for next to the one of the smartest scientists in the world. So there's ample opportunity and I would highly recommend that.

Michael McKinnon: We just don't see an end to the growth and the demand and the need of having cybersecurity professionals in the industry. So you're going to be safe by entering a career that is going to be there for many years to come.

Michael Warnock: For me, the importance of the industry is to really defend Australia. That's ultimately what this is about. There are various attempts every day, whether it be to banks, healthcare systems, central government from cyber criminals around the world. In the old days, it used to be land-based, sea-based, air base war. It's, it's now cyber. We all have mobile phones, we've all got digital assets. We all know that the world we're in has changed. So the ability for us to actually create good, to protect our way of life, that's ultimately one of the key reasons we do what we do In the cyber industry.

Erika Salmon: I'm never doing the same thing day in, day out. There's always something different. There's also a lot of new problems in it that you need to find new solutions for. I just find it a lot of fun to build something and create something that I can see is working and I can see is securing people and the company. It's, it's very fun.

Rachel George: I honestly think that this career is an amazing career. It's so rewarding. It's joyful. Being given the opportunity to help shape little people's lives is an amazing feeling. It's an incredible opportunity to see them grow and learn right in front of your eyes.

I've always had a passion to work with children. I'm very nurturing, maternal, um, and who wouldn't. They just provide so much joy. Every single day is different.

Casey Goodman: I joined the early childhood sector because I had a really keen interest in working with young children. Um, I'd known about that interest in myself from a young age. However, I hadn't really given that much thought until I entered my certificate three in early childhood. Um, once I entered the sector, I noticed that that interest really grew.

Charles Hipkin: I started working with children as soon as I finished school. So back in, yeah, 2010, I did a gap year over in the UK, started working with children. Um, I was really interested in seeing them learn and being part of that learning and their development.

Megan Sao: I love that I can run around on my feet. The children are chasing you, you're chasing the children. Walking in everyone is always so happy, like it's not a sad environment, it’s very positive and uplifting and like a happy environment, which, like, makes, always make me feel so much better.

Ramesh Shrestha: Definitely, definitely the children. Like, it's almost a privilege to be there and see them learn and grow. There's so much going on in the single day, and there's so much learning happening, so much messy play happening, so much fun going around. It's almost like a vibrant community where you are just throwing ideas. It's like a science lab where ideas are coming, experiments are being done, things are being built and they are being destroyed and they are being rebuilt again. It's such an exciting place to be in.

Cassandra Davis: One of the best things has been seeing the relationship I've built with my group, and over the year, how some of my children are at the age where they're finally starting to talk, and they're saying my name for the first time you realize, did you just say Cas? And they're looking at you smiling, and they're like, yeah, Cas. And it's the best feeling like you realize how important you are, and so like it's such a joy.

Casey Goodman: I think the most exciting aspect of the early childhood sector is the amount of career opportunities that we have, um, available to us in many different areas of interests and passions, whether it be sustainability, reconciliation, you know, health and well-being, you know, this, this, the many career options that we have. It's not just limited to the classrooms that we teach in.

Cassandra Davis: You have so many opportunities in terms of to what level you want to get your education. So there's a lot of movement and flexibility within centres as to what you need and what they need. And then, yeah, so every time I studied, I could rearrange my working hours to suit and support me to be able to study. And a lot of flexibility, a lot of support when I had to do practice and placements through those processes as well. So, yeah, there's a lot of, a lot of ways that your centre can support you to get to the goals that you want to do.

Casey Goodman: I got into early childhood education and care through, um, a TAFE pathway. Was really great, and really valuable in my current learning. I did my diploma, my certificate three online. So I did a sort of distance education arrangement where I was being able to work, uh, almost full-time and study at the same time. It was a really great combination for me.

Charles Hipkin: Working through TAFE the teachers are really supportive, lots of contact time, um, lots of really comprehensive feedback and responsiveness to the work that I was providing as well, which I found really beneficial to then, you know, take it to the next step.

Ramesh Shrestha: After a couple of years, I would like to do my master’s in educational leadership as well. And when I have gotten that qualification and gotten some more experience, I would like to go back to my country and try to change the school system and the learning that goes in my country. The goal is definitely to nurture a more conscious global citizen in the future. And it's an opportunity for you to do that. So, um, if you have an opportunity to do change the world, then why not?

Megan Sao: The advice I would give to a student is definitely go talk to your careers advisor and then, um, try and get work experience at an early childhood centre. Everyone was so supportive and, like, with my traineeship, when I needed help, if I needed help, like, they're always there to help me.

Cassandra Davis: You wake up every day wanting to go to work. You enjoy going to work. You want to be there. The world is your oyster. And there are so many opportunities for you to grow and develop.

Rachel George: I recommend all students to explore this sector because of the pure joy. It's, it’s just so rewarding.

Kyara Simms: To me working in the finance industry means being able to help people who are in need and assist them to achieve their goals.

[music plays over images of white-collar workers in the finance industry]

In year 10 I applied for a school-based traineeship. So, I applied for the position at the Commonwealth Bank with the AES, Aboriginal Employment Strategy and I got the job. So, before I worked at CBA, I worked at a Thai restaurant where I learned to interact with customers. That's helped me transition into my role and now I'm a customer banking specialist.

Kyle Sinclair: I actually, uh, wanted to be a physiotherapist, realized physiotherapy wasn't for me, you know, I had this moment of what do I do? You know, I'm, I'm 20 I'm young I need to think of what I want to do as a career. I was good at maths, loved numbers. So then I studied at TAFE for two years. When I was at TAFE, I heard, uh, stories that it was good to get, uh, experience, uh, while studying. I put my resume out to about 15, 16 accountants. Luckily, uh, Hancock and Associates was one of them, and you know, 16 years later, I'm still there.

Joel Threadgold: So, I started, uh, in an unpaid role after, after university, that job lasted about five or six months. You get 50% of everything you make and, you know, coming out of university, you need to have a little bit of funds built up. And then I moved from there into a trading platform. So, it helps people sort of buy and sell stocks. And then from there you learn enough in that job where you feel like you're capable of managing it yourself, and that's why I've moved the Australian stock report now.

[Music plays over an aerial shot of a city]

Selinna Doan: What excites me to, uh, go through numbers and analyse the data is, I guess I like finding the errors in the data. When I'm finding that, you know, everything matches and the final balance at the end, just everything just matches and it's definitely fulfilling.

Joel Threadgold: Most exciting part of my job would be closing big deals. And it's obviously quite a big sales process, um, leading up to that point and it's financially and mentally quite rewarding as well. When you, when you've sort of done, done the hard work and it's obviously paid off.

Lachlan Darmanin: In finance in general, there's just so many opportunities out there and different areas. Financial planning is a very fulfilling job, especially when you see people who, you know, come for advice and they're, um, you know, very stressed out about their situation and we, we put together a plan for them. It's not always about the numbers, it's about connecting with the clients. It's about engaging with them and helping them achieve their goals.

Kyara Simms: After I finished my school based traineeship, I received a Cert two in business services. I got a lot of support. So, I took what I learned from my Cert two, and then put it into practice.

Kyle Sinclair: I studied an advanced diploma at TAFE, uh, two-year course, full time. Found it very practical. Because you're in a classroom setting, you know, 20 people to a, to a teacher, you could ask questions, you could get assistance after class, all the teachers were wonderful. Some of the teachers were actually in their own public practice at the current time. So, they were also able to give us, uh, experiences. So not just, hey, the textbook says this, they could apply the learnings actually to real life experiences.

Lachlan Darmanin: I studied Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in financial planning at St. George TAFE. Through the years at TAFE I got to know the teachers pretty well, and eventually they helped me get a job. We had to do some industry experience as well. The best advice I can give for a young student is to try a lot of things and push yourself and learn different areas of finance and seek out work experience in that industry.

Kyara Simms: At CBA, I'm learning the skills to help people with financial hardship. My biggest, like, thing I could make a difference is helping these people organize their banking. In my role, I am also able to help my community and help them move forward.

Selinna Doan: So fun day for me as an NDIS finance officer working in the community sector, we do help the vulnerable and the disability and aged. So being able to see their smile on their faces when they go out to community outings, although I'm not the front facing, knowing that I'm able to secure income aside for them to go on these activities is a fun day for me.

Kyara Simms: Well, every day is like a fun day. You may have a inspiration story to tell. My team is very supportive, if I have a question, they’re able to help me out.

Kyle Sinclair: In our firm, we've got cadets or trainees. Um, we've then got accountants. We've got managers and we've got partners. Um, we also have an admin team that supports all of us. Everyone is approachable, um, we have a doors open policy, the partner's doors, the managers doors, everyone’s is open, so you've just gotta knock on the door, come in, have, have a talk.

How I learnt the most was actually sitting down in front of someone and them, uh, explaining why things, uh, were done that way. Why they're asking these questions. If you don't know an answer or you don't understand something, ask, um, because the only way you're going to learn is by asking these questions and through experience.

Joel Threadgold: I would say focus on your strengths because it, at the end of the day, it could just be the grades that get you to a point. They want somebody to come in and be capable of learning and being a sponge. That's something that they weigh a lot more highly here, if you’re motivated.

Selinna Doan: So, the main advice I would give to high school students is to do what they love. If they love the finance, if they love fast pace and something challenging, finance industry is something for you. If you're not too sure, seek career advice, take advantage of the support that you have around you.

Joel Threadgold: If you feel like a social aspect is a massive part of your job, and you've got thick skin, uh, this would probably be a right avenue for you to take.

Kyle Sinclair: It's very flexible. Um, so working hours, it doesn't have to be a nine to five. Um, you can also work from home these days with technology, pay is good. There's many different paths that you can take. Uh, you don't have to be stuck behind a desk doing the same thing over and over again. Also in public practice, you, you get a variety of work it's.

So, every day is changing. Uh, as you progress in, you know, your career, in the first year, you might only do tax returns. And then you'll, you know, start off with small business. Then it might be meeting business, a large business, super funds, auditing. There's so many different pathways for starting a career in finance.

Kyara Simms: If I was speaking to a high school student in my community, I would encourage them to take every opportunity that they can get as this is a life changing opportunity, working in a big financial institution and being only 20 is a big achievement. And I hope I inspire others.

Bec Watson: Hospitality, it's not like bread. Never gets stale. It's more like aged wine. It will always get better. Every day is a new day. Every day you meet someone new, and they're going to really inspire you to keep creating an experience for the customers, which is what hospitality is all about.

[music plays over images of a beach, and a city and hospitality workers]

Gigi Awadalla: There are many reasons why it's important for students to investigate their career options now. By engaging in career exploration, students make informed decisions, not only about their career but also about subject choices. One of the best ways to get a feel of the industry and a head start is to seek work-experience opportunities. This will provide an insight into the industry. Students will be able to ask questions from those who work in the industry and gain valuable advice while building their network and contacts.

Bec Watson: So when I was at school, especially when I was picking subjects, I did think about my interests, and I did find an interest in business and commerce. I was fortunate enough to reach out to a mentor of mine, and he said, "Look, you can bring it together." Although I started thinking I was going to do PR and advertising, I'm now working as a front-of-house manager at Forrester's in Surry Hills.

Daniel Azzopardi: This industry is about opportunity and if you have the determination and drive, you can get those opportunities very quickly. I definitely got a lot of advice from career advisors and teachers when making those choices because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. It was more about keeping my options open.

I definitely made sure that I was growing connections and, and having more of an understanding of the industry. So I had a really good progression path, in that I was supported, and when I moved to Sydney, specifically working within one of the largest groups in hospitality in Maryvale, it meant that I was given those opportunities tenfold.

Vicki Lawrence: I got into the industry through TAFE New South Wales when I was studying. The company, InterContinental Hotels Group, or IHJ, came to the campus and offered an outbacker program. I just fell in love with this rewarding experience of being able to make somebody's holiday.

Harley Norman: I am a bit of an artist. I love to draw, and I love to implement my art into my food. I progressed from just washing dishes to food preparations, and then eventually I got offered an apprenticeship, and that's when I really took off into the industry. My TAFE New South Wales mentor, Bernadette, she has been an absolute inspiration for me to become a teacher in the future and then teach the next generation of chefs.

Lucy Marrinan: I love hospitality because I love people. I am a huge people person, and hospitality is something where you're serving guests, you're serving your customers. But you're also working in a team. And you just get to have such a good time and everybody teaches you something all the time. You're always learning, and it's always evolving. Like, No day is ever the same. It's always different.

Monica Tyburczy: Every day it doesn't feel like work. I'm happy to go into work every day, and I never dread going into work the night before. You always have fun, and you make friends, and it feels like a big family. So, you're going into an environment where you're always learning, and people are there to support you.

[music plays over video clips of a restaurant]

Gigi Awadalla: Students who progress in the hospitality industry reap the long-term benefits. The global stage is their playground. They are likely to have opportunities to work anywhere in the world.

Billy Fox: This industry's been very kind to me. I've been able to travel through my work, and I was the captain of the Australian Culinary Youth Team. So, we were the competitive international representatives for the country, and we'd fly in and out of a whole bunch of different countries, representing Australia and showing what we have as chefs.

Australian chefs are really highly regarded all around the world. Australian produce is some of the best in the world. So, young chefs have the opportunity to work with some of the best cuts of meat and seafood that the world has to offer. When you get an Australian chef walk into a kitchen in Switzerland or in London, they've got plenty of seafood experience and meat experience.

Samuel Smith: Being in this industry, the world is your oyster. When I was living and working in France, I always sort of jump on a train, and in a couple of hours, I was in, in Spain and then, um, you know, being able to travel from Paris, you know, fly over to the UK just for the weekend. Yeah, It's just mind-blowing to me, and I still sort of have to pinch myself in regards to the opportunities that I've had and where this career has taken me.

[Music plays over video of a bar]

Gigi Awadalla: Important attributes to possess when considering the hospitality industry is to have an open mind and a willingness to learn. Be prepared to be creative, practical, and like using your hands to create.

Daniel Azzopardi: The transferable skills I learned in the hospitality industry include money management, building relationships and problem-solving, and, and also the customer-service skills. With those skills, you get a job anywhere in hospitality.

Lucy Marrinan: You need to love working with people and you need to want to be a team player. Emotional intelligence is something that's really, really important as well. Having great initiative, knowing when something needs to get done, and doing it without needing to be told.

Harley Norman: Organization is just key. And, uh, to have everything organized around me, it makes life so much more simple, so much more easy. It makes you feel better to be very organized and to be able to do multiple jobs.

Vicki Lawrence Let your fun side come out, let your energy shine. If you're a helper or a people person, you like learning about different things, different cultures, and different people, ask questions, and be open to what you want to learn as a person as well.

Monica Tyburczy: I would say, speak to people with experience as well. Try to get their view and try to learn from them as well. Even going into your, um, local cafe, you can always start a conversation with the manager and ask questions and say you're interested about the industry and their own experiences, and then just learn from that.

Billy Fox: If you have the right attitude, then in my belief, you're halfway there. Put yourself in a position where you learn from the best possible people and just become a sponge throughout your career. You will have the opportunity to go out and work with industry leaders to learn and sort of grow in your career.

Gigi Awadalla: Speak to your careers advisor, who is able to clarify your understanding, provide you with industry links, and support you with work-experience opportunities. So, from here your job is to speak to your careers advisor.

Bec Watson: There's a reason why we all go to restaurants and have fun. It's because we want to have that experience, and you will be part of that. If you love putting a smile on someone's face, then this is the industry for you.

Talen Green: What I enjoy about working in the Marine industry is always really positive and everyone's looking to help you, especially when you, you're a younger kid. If you're young and looking to get into this industry, definitely have a go, put that foot forward, and it'll go a long way.

[music plays over video clips of boats]

How I got this job was through work experience from school. We contacted the manager here, and he was happy to take me on. And through that, I got a job out of it.

Oliver Szekely: I never thought I'd be in, in the boating industry. I was working in a bottle shop, and one day I started washing down a yacht twice a week for some extra cash and then I realized I really liked working on the water. And then from then on, I got my deck hands qualification. That's when I started working on the island, uh, in Sydney Harbor. Everyone was good to work with, and being out in the elements and just mingling with people really appealed to me. And now I can really see a future in the industry.

Andy O’Neil: Every day is different. You're never doing the same thing because you've got such a broad aspect of, you know, work that you do, you can utilize it in every day and also in other trades as well. It's no point in doing something if you don't wanna do it, like you've got to concentrate on what you aspire to do and what you enjoy doing.

Sammy Tien: My job has taken me overseas. I've travelled the South Pacific, Europe, and some parts of Mexico. It's very different, very remote, uh, very beautiful, cruising areas that you get to see and do around the world.

If a young student was interested in a trade or a career path, then uh, look into possibly doing a trade and starting from there, and learn the theories, learn the basic principles. You can only build from there.

Matthew Conroy: Get that trade behind you. If you enjoy working with your hands, then that will stay with you for life. Something that you'll find you can always fall back on or use in, in many other fields. I did a Marine mechanical apprenticeship, ah, straight from school and then continued, ah, that job for over 10 years before going over to Europe and working as an engineer on super yachts.

I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do when I left school, but I knew that I loved working on the water. So, I ended up working for a marina down in the Shire, um, and then continued on there as a marine mechanic when I finished my apprenticeship.

Oliver Szekely: It was all after school, and at TAFE that I learned everything to become a captain. This is the first thing in my life that I actually want to do by myself and then these courses that I've done at TAFE, it's something I wanted to do, and learning everything about it has just opened my eyes to how good learning actually can be if it's something that you like to do.

Andy O’Neil: It was what I wanted to do, I knew that I wanted to do that as a trade. Teachers were good, they, they taught well and, you know, everyone got along, so it was a good, good thing to do. I did, um, woodwork and design technology, and my teacher from that class actually recommended I do boat building.

Simon Don: A passion for the industry is probably what's, what’s led me down this path. There’s probably two things that really appeal to me. Ah, You meet a very interesting and diverse range of people, you know, and I'm a people person so we spend a lot of time, you know, getting to know people, and catching up with them, and chatting and learning about them, and I find that fascinating. And obviously, the boats themselves, you know, I'm probably only in the office half of the day. The rest of the day I'm with people or I'm out on the water or I'm out on boats. So, you know, you can't really beat being out on the water in a beautiful boat.

Traditionally, it has been more male dominated, but we're seeing more and more females in the industry now.

Talen Green: There is a lot of girls that do work as captains and engineers also. It's just as accessible I think these days.

Sammy Tien: There is plenty of women in the industry locally, internationally, from deckhands to stewards, captains, shipwrights.

The best way to find a job in this industry would be to do your research online and speak to the people. Get down to the marina and see if that's what you enjoy and what you like doing and move forward from there.

Oliver Szekely: I would recommend it to anybody who likes hands-on work, get to learn a lot, get to be out in the open. It's not like being inside all day or outside in the elements. Hopefully, in the next 10 years, I'll, uh, keep doing some more courses, drive bigger boats, maybe some super yachts, got to dream big.

Talen Green: In 10 years from now, I hope to see myself on a super yacht overseas.

Simon Don: I got a passion for the industry, and I got a passion for boats, you know, this is a great brand that we're involved with. So, I would love to still be involved with the company and with the brand in 10 years in a more senior position, would, ah, would definitely be an aspiration. But yeah, I love the job and I love the industry.

For a younger student looking to come into the industry, my advice would be definitely reach out to some of the local businesses in your area. Businesses like us are always looking for trainees and people to help out here and there and learn the ropes and come up through the ranks.

We've got staff who have gone through the ranks at TAFE and done qualifications through there as well, and that's been very valuable for us as well in having people trained up as they move up and take on more responsibility in the business. So yeah, definitely training in a more formal place like TAFE and, ah, definitely reaching out to local businesses in your area.

Danielle Markey: Career progression in the supply-chain industry, I honestly think it's about building relationships, learning from them. A lot of people are happy and willing to share their experiences and their knowledge in this industry. There's lots to learn. There's, there’s just something different all the time because there's such variety in the type of work that's available in the industry. I just don't think you can really go wrong.

[Music plays over video clips of a truck, people in hard hats ships and planes]

Danielle Markey: I studied a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in HR, but an opportunity came up in supply chain, and I thought, given the exposure and all the different opportunities that they were offering, it was a really good time to try and to say yes, and just kind of give it a go.

Lisa Nguyen: Funnily enough, supply chain is probably one of the industries or careers that you don't wake up and have an aha moment, "I want to be a supply-chain practitioner today." So it's really that very deliberate process of considering, you know, what do I want to do that will be sustainable as a career and a job in the future? So, when supply chain came up, it was a no brainer.

Mark McKenzie: When I left school, I actually thought that supply chain was just about truck driving and driving a forklift. It's not. There's so many people in IT. There's so many people in systems design. We're employing people in big data. And so, one of the key pieces of advice I would've given is, think broadly about this industry. You've got a whole lot of skills that you can develop in supply chain that you'll either be able to use as a building block through your career in supply chain, or be able to springboard you into other areas that you might be interested in the future.

Rita Antranik: The most exciting aspect of the industry would be the endless opportunities, especially for women in supply chain. You know, I've been lucky enough to be appointed the first female terminal manager in Australia for Patrick's and in the industry, so that was certainly an exciting achievement for me and for the industry. I think, you know, it's an opportunity to pave the way for young women. I think I've visited almost every regional area of, um, Australia that you could imagine. The exciting part is that the industry will take you to places that you wouldn't imagine being in.

Danielle Markey: If I knew that in high school, I wanted to, you know, start out in the supply-chain industry, I would definitely approach the businesses or any sort of organization that's within that industry. Any entry-level experience or exposure kind of does naturally lead further or, you know, into a different area, like you're not limited by any means.

Lisa Nguyen: Experience matters in supply chain. And so that if you want to get yourself into supply chain, get yourself the experience, whether you are interning, an apprentice, following someone else, ah, talking to people in the industry, because people would love talking to you. Apply yourself. Be hands-on and be visible. So, you need to have the practical smarts. You need to have the experience, but you also need to have some sort of qualification to support what it is that you understand. So those two do go hand in hand, and it's always, like everything, a continuous learning journey.

Rita Antranik: Mentors are a very important aspect of developing your career and pushing in the right direction, especially if you're wanting to progress. I was very lucky in having some really good mentors that invested a lot of time and effort into me. If you're looking for a particular type of mentor, it’s, for me, it's someone that has been in the industry a long time, certainly been exposed to various aspects of the supply chain, and that can really push you to the best of your ability.

[music plays over video of a warehouse functioning]

Mark McKenzie: The supply-chain industry is really on the cusp of a major change. When technology comes into a workplace, what actually happens is it changes the nature of the work. So at the moment, we've got the capacity for fuel tankers to drive themselves, but we're envisaging in the next 10 to 15 years is those drivers will be riding shotgun in the truck, not actually driving the truck. They'll be supervising its operation. And they'll be there as the first-hand response in terms of emergency response. That's just one example. But right through the supply chain, we're seeing new jobs created and they're quite exciting jobs.

Danielle Markey:I think if you're looking to, you know, climb the ladder, become successful, there is something you can certainly do in the supply chain, irrespective of the skill or the function that you’re wanting to work within. The skills that you kind of come with, if you've come from a different industry, it's transferable. I think it's just a matter of being willing to jump in, taste test, taking any opportunity that perhaps you didn't think or you didn't know that you'd be interested in because I think it will surprise you.