Where are they now? Stories of Success Sunshine Coast Council Traineeship Program

© Sunshine Coast Regional Council 2009-current. Sunshine Coast Council™ is a registered trademark of Sunshine Coast Regional Council. www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au mail@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au T 07 5475 7272 F 07 5475 7277 Locked Bag 72 Sunshine Coast Mail Centre Qld 4560 Acknowledgements Council wishes to thank all contributors and stakeholders involved in the development of this document. Disclaimer Information contained in this document is based on available information at the time of writing. All figures and diagrams are indicative only and should be referred to as such. While the Sunshine Coast Regional Council has exercised reasonable care in preparing this document it does not warrant or represent that it is accurate or complete. Council or its officers accept no responsibility for any loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting in reliance upon any material contained in this document A number of the traineeship opportunities referred to were provided by Sunshine Coast Regional Council with the support of funding assistance through the Queensland Government's Skilling Queenslanders for Work First Start Program.

Sunshine Coast Council employment programs include:

• Traineeships

• My Summer Workplace

• Work Experience

• Cadetships

• Graduate Programs

www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au for more information

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Nick Wallace 2013 Traineeship program

Currently employed with Sunshine Coast Council, Building and Plumbing Services

The traineeship program was extremely important for me in the early years of my career. As a young person coming out of school, it was difficult gaining employment in an administration role as I didn’t have the required experience. I was lucky enough to be chosen for the 2013 traineeship program and now not only do I have over 2 years’ experience in the administration field, but I have gained a Certificate III in Business Administration and a Forklift Licence along the way.

After my traineeship finished, I was lucky enough to secure a 12 month contract in the Regional Strategy & Planning Department which has now turned into a full-time position.

I believe that the traineeship program helped to put my career in a good position for the future. Now that I have secured a full-time position within council, there is plenty of opportunity for me to continue to develop my skills. Working in the Building and Plumbing Services Branch, which is an increasingly busy and growing industry on the Sunshine Coast, means that there will always be the chance to keep advancing my knowledge in this particular field.

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

The traineeship program was massively important and came along at a perfect time for me in my career. Being fresh out of school and lacking the necessary qualifications/experience, I was extremely grateful to be selected in this program. The most important thing for me during this program was the fact that it really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Being put in a new work environment and then performing roles that I never would have seen myself doing has really set me up well for the future. Knowing that I could overcome these challenges has really filled me with a lot of confidence heading into the future.

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Cassidy Schultz 2013 Traineeship program

Currently employed with Sunshine Coast Council, Property Management Branch and studying a Bachelor of Business - Marketing

My traineeship helped me gain the skills I needed to secure a position within council after the program had finished. It gave me the perfect opportunity to settle into a working environment and interact with both members of my team and external suppliers outside of council.

I am hoping that the combined skills I’ve gained through the program, the current position I am in and the studies that I am completing, means that I am able to grow in my career and secure a position that I both enjoy and learn from every day.

Career wise, the traineeship program assisted in teaching me the skills I needed to perform in a professional environment. I feel as if the program was the perfect transition from high school into a working environment as it provided all the necessary training and opportunities I needed to reach a higher position in my team and hopefully further progress my career.

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

Coming straight out of high school, the traineeship was perfect as I quickly learnt the skills I needed in order to interact in an office environment and build my knowledge on different areas of council. The thing I learnt most from the traineeship program was how to time manage in order to produce the best quality of work that I could.

Sharni Vale 2009 Traineeship program

Currently employed with Sunshine Coast Council, Human Resources Branch

During my traineeship I gained knowledge from my Certificate III in Business Administration and from my employer. It was great to complete a certificate while working so I could apply the skills to the job straight away and have an insight into how an organisation functions.

Since completing the traineeship, I have undertaken further study – I have now completed a Certificate IV in Payroll Administration, while working fulltime in Payroll. I always seek to learn more and gain new skills within my area so if any opportunities arise I would be able to be considered for progression.

I thought that completing my Certificate III in Business Administration during my traineeship would help me to get a normal administration job. However, I was lucky to secure a job in Payroll only to discover I actually enjoy it quite a lot.

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

How important customer service is within an organisation.

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Jade Law 2012 Traineeship program:

Currently employed with Sunshine Coast Council Environment & Sustainability Policy Branch and studying Bachelor of Psychology - HR Major

The traineeship program opened my eyes to the variety of careers available that I was unaware of while at school. This helped me choose what I wanted to study at university. I was also able to gain a permanent full-time position at Sunshine Coast Council where I am very happy

I’ve been working as Administration Support Officer in Environment and Sustainability Policy for 3.5 years now. I also go to university part-time studying psychology with a human resource major. I’ve been granted study leave of 5 hours a week to attend classes which makes full-time work and part-time university possible!

I hope to complete my university degree while still working full-time at the council. After that, I’m excited to see where it all takes me. I would love to use my degree in the Human Resources Branch if an opportunity came up.

When I finished school I planned to take a gap year (to undertake the traineeship program), I was then going to go on to university and study fulltime - Bachelor of Health Promotions - and work part-time. The Traineeship program not only influenced the change of degree, but also to switch to full-time work and do part-time university. I love doing my university study this way because I’m not suffocated by my university work load, and still have sufficient income to live more than comfortably.

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

So much! I started the traineeship with a fairly good idea of how to use Microsoft programs already, however through TAFE and internal training I was able to fully learn what these programs are capable of and the most efficient way to do things.

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Kyle Baxter 2012 Traineeship program

Currently employed with Sunshine Coast Council, Environmental Operations Branch

The traineeship program helped progress my career through practical training and skills building. I was also afforded the opportunity to work in a variety of different areas within Environmental Operations; Pest Management, Natural Areas, Community Partnerships and Waterways. The variety of different jobs and skill I learnt within these different teams was extremely valuable to my personal and professional development.

In the future I would like to further develop my skills in conservation and land management with the possibility of furthering my development with tertiary education. I would also like to explore the possibility of moving into fire management.

Everything has changed for me since doing the traineeship - I didn’t have much of a career before starting the program. Now I have a clear pathway on which I would like to continue my career.

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

The most valuable part of my traineeship was developing confidence in my own ability and confidence in the workplace. I also learnt a lot about specific technical skills which apply to my role and team in Environmental Operations.

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Jenna Faith 2013 Traineeship program

Currently employed with Sunshine Coast Council, Civic and Community Events

The traineeship program has helped progress my career by giving me the experience necessary for a wide array of jobs. Without the program I definitely wouldn’t be where I am now. It can be really difficult to break into the corporate world as a beginner, the traineeship program not only gives you an in, but provides you with the skills and experience to ensure you exit the program as a highly capable employee.

Since completing my traineeship I am now working full time on programs such as SCENE (Sunshine Coast Events Network), Sunshine Coast Australia Day Awards, New Year’s Eve Mooloolaba and Citizenship Ceremonies.

I really love events and hope I can stay in this field but am always happy to see where the opportunities take me. I want to see how far I can go, whatever that may be.

Everything has changed for me since completing my traineeship. Before starting the traineeship program I was working in retail. This program has placed me right in the middle of the corporate world, with a great job and great experience, it has solely kick started my career.

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

I learned how to interact with people in a professional manner and how to be an efficient, helpful worker. It’s actually hard to pin-point what I learnt the most, overall personal development was significant.

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Sam Jensen 2013 Traineeship program

Currently employed with Sunshine Coast Council, Library Services

The traineeship program provides such a great pathway for people to gain meaningful employment and invaluable knowledge of the

organisation and of their chosen field. The program definitely helped me progress my career as it gave me the chance to demonstrate to my supervisors my commitment to learning and the knowledge and skills I was gaining through study. The workshops around resumes and preparing for interviews also definitely helped when it came to the point of applying for a position at the end of the traineeship.

The Traineeship inspired me to continue personal studies and my hopes for the future are to enter the industry I am most interested in and continue to develop professionally.

Since the traineeship program I have been more confident in my abilities to progress professionally and the program gave me the skills and enthusiasm to realise my own potential. I really owe a lot to what I am doing now it terms of professional development to my traineeship.

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

I learnt so much through my traineeship but to me, one of the most important things I learnt through the program was how to network and communicate with a diverse range of people.

Tracey Dean 2012 Traineeship program

Currently employed with Sunshine Coast, Community Response Branch

The traineeship program was pivotal in my career progress and an important stepping stone to increase my knowledge. As I was a mature age student starting my career over again, it gave me the confidence and experience to re-commence my career at a later stage in my life.

Completing my traineeship inspired me to continue my studies and I am currently completing my Diploma in Business Administration.

I believe the traineeship program had a huge positive impact on my career by providing me the opportunities and experience which I needed to be successful in obtaining full time permanent employment with council. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to complete my traineeship and believe I would not have had these wonderful opportunities in council without completing my Certificate III in Business Administration as a trainee.

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

What a huge organisation council is and the many departments/branches in the organisation. The TAFE learning modules were great but the extensive ‘hands on’ experience I received in my branch was extremely beneficial also.

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Steven Eichler 2009 Traineeship program

Currently employed with Auckland Council, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development

Following my traineeship in 2009, I was successful in obtaining a job in Waste & Resources Management in Maroochydore in 2010. That opened my eyes to council’s Infrastructure Services team and then in 2011 until I left in May 2012 I was in Parks & Gardens in

Caloundra and had a lot of face-to-face interaction with the community and even more parts of council. I also had a lot of involvement with councillors, deputy mayor and mayor and ministers’ offices and state government departments. I worked hard, built my understanding of the role council plays in the community and how it works in collaboration with state government to provide essential community services.

I am now working for Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development which is an organisation owned by Auckland Council. Auckland Council is massive – 8,500 employees and is one of the top 10 largest employers in NZ. I am working in the economic development team here working with high growth sectors, or sectors that are going to have a key role in Auckland’s future economic prosperity. I have a project co-ordinator role in our team of 30 and my role is primarily focussed on food and beverage as it plays a large role in Auckland’s economy.

In the next few years I really see myself moving into a project manager capacity. I love that councils cover such a wide array of services so there really is a massive amount of variety within the sector, in my short time I have worked in four very different fields.

The traineeship program gave me a great foundation and great footing and I was lucky to be mentored in those early days by some really passionate people who were happy to share their stories of career growth and their journey and also share with me what skill sets I should be working on and growing. I learnt that feedback is not bad and I should be lucky that someone is willing to share some of their time with me to provide me with feedback because it can only help!

What did you learn most during your traineeship?

I learnt most about the sheer size of councils and the different fields they cover. When I was in HR I was exposed to the other teams and how they operated and how all the teams worked together as one organisation. I was really lucky to get such a good grounding in the industry. I learnt not to be scared of my colleagues, be it the CEO, the mayor, executive directors or my team leader. We are one team working towards one goal and we all play an important role in that. Even though that was 2009 I still remember a lot of what I learned and apply it to my everyday role.