Building a post-footy career

Brisbane Lions premiership backman Noah Answerth is not content for professional sport to be his only successful career, working hard off-field to provide himself with a rewarding career pathway for life after football.

Having always been interested in the building industry, Noah enrolled in a flexible Diploma of Building and Construction (Building) (CPC50220) at TAFE Queensland to fit his study around his busy schedule, taking 18 months of part-time study to complete the course.

This higher-level course is studied predominantly online, with practical skills trained on campus, and delivers graduates the skills and technical requirements for a Builder Low or Medium Rise licence in Queensland, making it a popular choice for students looking to enter high end construction careers.

“I did the online course with TAFE Queensland and did classes at night, then I was able to go on site a little bit as well at Eagle Farm campus to do laser levelling, surveying, and stuff like that,” Mr Answerth said.

“It was very flexible, very easy to get done in your own time. To be able to have teachers on hand to email, message, or get onto a class with during the week to ask questions, made it really easy to finish and pretty streamlined.”

“I know a lot of people do it the other way around and do their apprenticeship before the diploma, but I didn’t have that time so the flexibility from TAFE Queensland to allow me to do that course first helped a lot.”

The 71 game Lion, who claimed a premiership medal in 2024 after five years of consistent contribution to the side’s backline when healthy, said he and other players at the club are encouraged to pursue vocational education around their training schedules to ensure they succeed off-field as well as on it.

“The club allow in our schedules time to put towards outside curricular activities, and for me that was the diploma through TAFE Queensland.”

“The club were really understanding, they actually helped me sign up to the course, and we have a partnership with TAFE Queensland as well now so the ability to have the club supporting you while studying was really important,” he said.

Answerth’s success off-field has not gone unnoticed by his peers, with the Lion winning the 2024 AFL Players Association Education and Training Excellence Award.

TAFE Queensland is partnered with the Brisbane Lions to deliver the Brisbane Lions Institute of Business & Sport from Brighton Homes Arena, enabling aspiring sports administrators to study a Diploma of Leadership and Management / Diploma of Sport (BSB50420/SIS50321) and complete work experience various club departments.