Council
19 September, 2023
More tradies offered pathway to teaching
AFTER a successful pilot program, the State Government is set to support more tradies to become teachers.
Education Minister Grace Grace said an expansion of the $20 million Trade to Teach Internship program, supports qualified and experienced tradies to transition to teaching careers.
Trade to Teach offers successful applicants a $20,000 scholarship, a paid internship, and a guaranteed permanent teaching position specialising in Industrial Technology and Design in a Queensland state secondary school.
Launched in 2022, there are currently 38 participants in the pilot cohort of the program. Tradies started their education degrees this year and will head to the classroom as an intern with a half teaching load from 2024. Successful applicants in this round will start their studies in 2024 and head to the classroom in 2025.
The program is being delivered in partnership with the Central Queensland University and the University of Southern Queensland.
Education Minister, Grace Grace, said Trade to Teach attracts highly experienced tradespeople to Queensland classrooms so students can benefit from real life industry experience.
“Industrial Technology and Design subjects are in demand in our secondary schools and this additional $10 million investment will support even more tradies to become teachers.
“Trade to Teach is just one of many ways we are getting more teachers in the classroom along with our new Teacher Aide pathway, our Turn to Teaching internship program, and of course our excellent, nation leading EBA.
“Applications close on October 2 so if you’re a tradie with a passion for your craft and a desire to pass your knowledge onto the next generation – get online and apply.”
Minister for Training and Skills Development, Di Farmer, said workforce attraction and retention is a key focus of our Good People. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032.
“It’s important that we take new approaches to recruitment to ensure we have the right people, in the right jobs, and that’s what programs like Trade to Teach are doing,” she said.
“This program is a great example of upskilling Queenslanders to get them into good jobs, with the added benefit that they’re sharing their skills and knowledge with our future workforce.”
Trade to Teach pilot participant Krystien Bennett, a plasterer from Gympie, said for tradies looking for a career change she encouraged them to consider a career in teaching.
“The internship is an amazing paid opportunity, and a chance to learn on the job which is a style I am used to,” she said.
“As a former plasterer, I’m now making the change to teaching and by doing this I hope to inspire students to be lifelong learners and show them your career can take different pathways.”
Trade to Teach pilot participant Dion Kingi, a carpenter from the Sunshine Coast, said Trade to Teach has been a godsend as he was looking to get off the tools or change career.
“It’s been decades since I’ve done study but I’m in the groove now. I’m studying with like-minded people who also want to teach, and the support from the program team and the university is fantastic,” he said.
“I highly recommend the program – the study is hard work but a different type of hard work to being on the tools all day, and I’m loving that I can still use my carpentry skills.”
Applications for the next round of Trade to Teach are open at www.qld.gov.au/tradetoteach and close on October 2.
The Good People. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032 is available at https://desbt.qld.gov.au/employment/support-employers/workforce-strategy.
