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.

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.