NEVER TOO LATE TO SWITCH
WORKERS who think they have missed their calling by not pursuing a vocational career after high school should not assume it is too late.
One in three apprentices and trainees are workers who have changed career when aged 25 or older, while one in 15 were aged 45 or older, data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research reveals.
About 52,000 Aussies over the age of 24 started a new career through vocational training last year – 16,600 in a trade and 35,400 in a nontrade.
Mature-age apprentices earn about a third more than those starting straight after school.
A first-year electrical apprentice, for example, earns $19.42 an hour if they start when aged 21 or older, compared to $13.51 an hour for a school leaver.
It means career changers do not have to fall back to earning a young person’s wage.
Brad Jenkins, leisure head of Lewis Land Group, which owns The Belvedere Hotel at Woody Point in Redcliffe, says older workers tend to be more worldly and more loyal, and have a great work ethic from the get-go.
The property developer is hiring hospitality workers as part of its Futures Employment Program, which equips people with job-ready skills and a Certificate III in Hospitality.
Jenkins says he welcomes all applicants to the program – as long as they can smile and move fast.
Alan Christopher, 62, undertook the training last year – completing two weeks of theory and two weeks of practical placement – before beginning a full-time job at The Belvedere.
“It’s not just a job, it’s a family,” he says. “I care about the staff and the younger ones treat me like one of them despite the age gap.”
Christopher used vocational training to end a bad luck streak as a jobseeker. Others use it to make a career change.
Front Porch Properties founder Rachael Turner went from teaching music to building and renovating homes.
The classical pianist decided to follow her passion for construction and design by enrolling in night school to complete a Diploma of Building and Construction.
She says it is important for people to find a career they truly love that suits their personality.
“Find something that completes you because if you are spending the main portion of your hours in a job, it’s important you are passionate about your work,” she says.