Case study: The future on tour—Redlands senior students visit local career options

[Kim Richards MP, Member for Redlands]

Thank you. I think the number one word has been about connecting and understanding the opportunities that exist across the Redlands.

[Evelyn Cordell, 2022 School-based Trainee of the Year]

It's definitely the best way to decide if this is the career path you want to do.

[Speaker – student]

Today, being here we got to speak to so many different people and listen to other people speak, which gave us so much more knowledge that we don't just get through school. You need to make connections and you need to talk to new people to know what you want to do. And that's why today's been so good.

[Michael Mrowka, REA Global]

When you're in school or coming out of school is to write down a job description, you know what is your dream job, what do you want to do. And it may not be a job, it might be a hobby that you want to turn into the ability to earn income by doing something that you love. Learn something, learn something new because knowledge is power. You know, I guess that the world is your oyster so um, you know, aim for the stars.

[Rabieh Krayem, Chair, Redlands Regional Jobs Committee]

You can do anything and your first job is not your last job.

[Speaker – in blue jacket]

It was fantastic to get out on site, have a look at SS Signs. Their factory is absolutely humming and pumping today. Ah, also for teams physically going in and seeing the different stages of construction and having the site supervisor explain all that to us, it was great. I could see the engagement between students and even the employers and Industry departments that have fallen away by the bus tours.

[Speaker – left-hand-side, blonde hair]

So the part of the day that I really enjoyed the most was the capacity to get students out into big Industries, to see the broad variety of things there. So at trans dev, it's not just about being a bus driver or being a mechanic, it's all the background, you know, professional stuff as well as the trade. So it was really valuable for our students to get out and see that broad variety of opportunity.

[Speaker – right-hand-side, dark blue tie]

I guess being there and hearing the sounds and speaking to the people and seeing the uniforms is a lot different to something that you see on the on the internet or on the TV. I guess an old adage is that you can't be what you can't see. So to have the students inside the facilities and seeing working operational industry occurring was just amazing.

[The Honourable Di Farmer MP, Minister for Employment and Small Business, Minister for Training and Skills Development, and Minister for Youth Justice]

We've created something like 225,000 jobs since before COVID and we actually, um, we actually did some projections on well what are we looking like in the future and 290,000 new jobs in 3 years different places across the state. That is amazing and that's because we are going so well, but we obviously are a victim of our own success because we literally don't have enough people to fill the jobs.

It is a very exciting time for all of us and to the students in the room, whether you're a school student or a training student, it is the absolute time of your life. Everyone is looking at you and wanting you to take up their job or wanting to get you to take up training in their sector. So the chance for you to get the job of your dreams and to get the training for the job of your dreams is absolutely here.

[Evelyn Cordell, 2022 School-based Trainee of the Year]

Work experience is my first tip on deciding on a career route and further training. It's the greatest method to determine whether it's the right path for you, whether you want to be a nurse or a hairdresser, a carpenter, electrician… whatever it is, there are only positive outcomes to completing work experience. You'll either enjoy what you did and decide it's definitely what you want to do, or you'll decide it's not.

Really I only gained positive things from my traineeship. The first one is you gain industry experience before you leave school. The biggest thing I've struggled with, and I've seen other students struggle with, is they apply for jobs and the CEO goes 'Do you have any experience in this area?’ and you're kind of like, well, I just graduated of course I don't have any experience in this area. But a traineeship or work experience is getting you that experience.

Work at school and even with the traineeship the theory part of it you learn how to do it in the writing, but actually doing it in person I learned through my traineeship is so much different. Everything I learned at the Mater, being a nurse then actually going and doing it I kind of realised I didn't know how to do it and it was really scary. But my traineeship and the mentor that I had at my traineeship really taught me this is how you do it even though I already knew how to do it, but the hands-on learning is just it is really a really good experience, and I think it's the best sort of learning in my opinion.

[Mayor Karen Williams, Redland City Council]

Job opportunities there for young people I think you've really got to think outside the square whether it's you want to be a… you know a rescue worker or whether it is you want to fly the Ubers of the air, or whether it is that you want to work in a you know on our environmental opportunities that come with that land the sky is absolutely the limit.

[Speaker – student, maroon tie]

Well, I'm definitely going to look more into you know work experience. I think after today I think that's really valuable, you know, it's definitely something I need to look into.

[Speaker – stakeholder, green shirt]

My favourite part of today was connecting with other industry partners, meeting some of the coordinators at schools, and the school students themselves.

[Speaker – teacher, orange jacket]

My students actually all commented that they were really impressed with being able to see some of the workplaces in action some of the job sites in action, so what they've always thought a job was that they actually got to see sort of the nitty-gritty of what it really entails and the different avenues within that particular industry that their skills might take them. So I think they found that the work and the job in action really useful today.

[Speaker – left-hand side, male student]

Our favourite part of today is probably going around, seeing the different uh trades and industries.

[Speaker – female student]

I wasn't today and like everyone's like advice and that, I'm considering doing more courses and vocations instead of going to uni, so I can get an idea of what I want to do before going and doing it.

[Rabieh Krayem, Chair, Redlands Regional Jobs Committee]

You connect with business not business connecting with you, so you had the greatest opportunity is to connect with business walk away knowing someone.