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?

Katrina Ryder, Senior News Editor: Working in the film and TV industry means that I can tell a story to the world, seeing your projects fall into something amazing for people to view. It's the best feeling in the world. When I was younger, I loved TV. I was always super interested in how it came out, looking so seamless. It's very collaborative. It's very high pace, energetic. Everyone just is happy to be there.

Ellie Hayward, Senior Post Producer: So, I joined the TV industry simply because as a child, I would spend hours in front of the TV and I just loved it. And as I was getting to that age in high school and talking to parents and teachers about what I might want to do as a career, I just, I just dreamt of working in this thing that I had spent my entire life watching and loving. And here I am, and it's really the industry I've worked in for the majority of my career. And I still love it. And I still spend hours and hours watching TV.

Gabriel Morrison, Cinematographer: Film industry is a really interesting industry, essentially, in a film you're creating a world. And so that means there's kind of every skill set needed to create a film. There's literally every art form and everything you can possibly think, especially on, the bigger you go, the more specialized these little roles become. As a cinematographer, you're the person behind the camera. You are working with the director to translate their vision into a visual sequence. And it's, it's quite a creative role, but also you have got to know how to light really well. You gotta run your camera team. You have to have a few assistants and you gotta tell a visual narrative.

Mitchell Wisby, Lighting Director: I joined the industry, from a very young age, something about, concert lighting intrigued me. I that's all I, all I wanted to do was light concerts. And looking into how lighting worked, lighting is very important. It brings so much mood and emotion to a scene. It can, it can help an audience sort of feel a way a director might not be able to do just within actor's face.

Ellie Hayward, Senior Post Producer: My role as a post producer means that I'm working in the edit on television shows. So I'm not on set. What I'm doing is working with the footage after it's been filmed. And my job is to watch it all pick what is the best stuff and the strongest stories and the best moments from characters. And then craft that into a TV show, using the edit software.

Yasmin Orr, Hair, and Make Up Supervisor: My role as a hair maker artist, in the TV film industry is definitely something where I am aiding someone in becoming the character that they're trying to achieve. Certainly, makes a big difference. Say for example, we're doing special effects on someone and the director is asked for something specific. I really feel like it actually improves the performance or the skills of the actor when they believe what's what they look like or the effects that they have on them. Yeah. I really appreciate the fact that my role can make a difference for someone else.

Jessica Maas, Make Up Artist: I would say the most exciting aspect on being on TV was actually seeing how they make things come to life and just watching them perform and then being normal again was so fun and exciting because you just see how quickly it switches up and also how everyone plays such a big role. I think it's so interesting. And then you watch it and you're like, wow, I was there. <Laugh>

Forest Lin, Junior Script Supervisor: Whenever you step on a film, set everyone there is there to do the same thing. And so there's this really camaraderie that comes filmmaking and every day is different. There's always interesting. And sometimes it's just there's moments on set where you're at a beautiful location or even in the studio and you sit there and stand there and go like, I can't believe this is my job.

Yasmin Orr, Hair, and Make Up Supervisor: I love the opportunities that I've had over the years where one day I'll be, um, doing a photo shoot at the beach and the next day I'll be doing a red carpet or Logan's event. And you know, the next day I might be working on a TV drama. And I just love that diversity. I find it very rewarding. I have loved every minute of it.

Katrina Ryder, Senior News Editor: I studied at TAFE St. Leonards, a certificate in screen and media and a diploma in screen and media. I loved it. There was so much range. It was hands on. It was like super in person. You had a lot of connection with the teachers. It was like, you're never in a class of more than 20. You, they had all the, all the equipment that you needed. They had all the support that you needed, but it was definitely a matter of, they're not going to force you to do anything that you don't want to do.

Mitchell Wisby, Lighting Director: TAFE was a really great experience, having equipment that I could jump on and use for the first time in a bigger environment than what my school had. For example, like the connections I made in TAFE, which without, I don't know where I've been in the industry. It took me as far as I've been.

Forest Lin, Junior Script Supervisor: As soon as I graduated from high school, I got accepted into the Australian film and television radio school. I studied a bachelor's there it's a free year course. And from there I was able to meet such great people. Like-minded people and collaborators that you kind of know for the rest of your life.

Ellie Hayward, Senior Post Producer: I studied television production at university, and then my first entry to the industry was a lot of work experience. And then I applied for a training scheme, which was the first entry into a full-time job, but that allowed me to gain some skills with a production company, get some training in the sort of things to expect and try out a few different roles at that junior level to see what I liked doing.

Jessica Maas, Make Up Artist: Some key attributes I would recommend for any student wanting to come into this industry is to have confidence. I would also say be resilient and don't ever give up if someone says, no, that's okay. Keep going, because you're gonna get a lot of no's. But when you keep persisting, that's when someone will see that and they'll be like, this person really wants it. You don't get a yes. Straight away. So it's totally fine, if you don't. Another key attribute would be to master your craft, do your, do your friends' makeup, do short courses, go on YouTube, get some books, and then you'll be really confident in your work.

Forest Lin, Junior Script Supervisor: Try and surround yourself for filmmakers, try and do subjects that, uh, involve film in any aspect and do that as much as you can, as long as you have a passion for film and you're willing to put your all into it and just go for It.

Katrina Ryder, Senior News Editor: There's so many different places to fall into this industry. So just be yourself. Don't ever have too much negative thinking and try and be as assertive as you can, no matter who you are or what your personality is. There's always some sort of role that you can fall into in this industry. If you want to be there.

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.