Gearing up for an eventful career

Jake, who graduated from St Edmund’s College last year, is currently studying a Diploma of Event Management (SIT50316) at TAFE Queensland’s Bundamba campus after completing a dual qualification (Certificate II in Tourism SIT20116 and Certificate III in Events SIT30516) while still at school.

“The whole way through school I never really knew what I wanted to do. I just thought I like a bit of this or I like bit of that — I want to be a doctor, I want to be a teacher, I want be a tradesman — all that. I thought I'd just give event management a go, see if I liked it and, well the rest is history. I'm still here and I'm loving it,” Jake said.

Jake already has planned out his long-term career goals, which include working for Red Bull Australia and assisting in events including X Games and Nitro Circus, after getting a taste of the events atmosphere while doing three days of work experience with the crew at the Red Bull Day in the Dirt in 2019.

“My teachers have been so good helping me set up everything by connecting me, and having conversations with Richard from Red Bull Australia to help find a spot to give them a hand over those days [at the September event at Queensland Moto Park] to get a little bit more experience,” he says.

Jake was able to kick start his career thanks to the Higher Level Skills program that provides eligible individuals with access to a subsidised training place in selected priority skill sets and certificate IV or above qualifications.

“After settling on my chosen field of study, choosing where to study was easy,” Jake says.

“During Year 11 and 12, I went here for the dual certificate and I just loved it. All the people are great, the courses are cool, all the restaurants and cafes are real hands on and real-world relatable.”

“I think it's really good. It's a good mixture of the theory and the practical side of it. Like you still have enough to work on for theory, but it's not enough to where you start to go insane. You can work on designs and set up rooms and create events and all the good stuff while keeping a good mix of the registration and all of the documentation stuff that's needed for events like bump-in sheets and run sheets.”

While Jake is considering further study at university, he can't recommend TAFE Queensland highly enough.

“The teachers help you out and it's flexible. What I found really useful is that the teachers are really knowledgeable in their field and they really know what they're talking about. And of course, they have the industry connections too which is working out really great for me.”

As the state’s largest and most experienced training provider, TAFE Queensland is committed to providing Queenslanders with the quality, hands-on training they need to succeed in their chosen career.

Learn more about the Queensland Government’s subsided training options and see where TAFE can take you.