Career Tasters put students in the driver’s seat

At the Toowoomba campus, two aspiring automotive students recently took the opportunity to step into the workshop, build practical skills, and learn more about an industry they're passionate about.

The students attended for eight weeks during Term 2 for one day per week on Wednesdays to gain practical experience in a real training environment.

For one student from Lowood State High School, Lucas Thornton, the opportunity was too good to pass up.

“I decided to do it because it’s a good opportunity,” he said.

“It’ll give you more hope to get into TAFE when you’re older.”

Travelling from the Ipswich region to attend the program at the Toowoomba campus demonstrated just how committed Lucas was to exploring a future in the automotive industry.

Throughout the program, he participated in practical workshop activities including removing and refitting tyres, exploring electric vehicle technology, and dismantling and rebuilding vehicle motors. 

The experience helped confirm his career aspirations and when asked whether he wanted to continue studying automotive technology in the future, he didn’t hesitate.

“Yes,” he said, adding that he would like to become a mechanic.

Fellow Career Taster student Johanaes Ghilliano who is attending Centenary Heights State High School in Toowoomba, joined the Career Taster with a similar goal in mind.

“I’ve always wanted to be a mechanic, or at least work with cars, because that’s basically what my parents do,” Johanaes said.

One of his favourite experiences was working alongside his peers to dismantle, inspect, and rebuild an engine.

“In the last couple of days, we dismantled an engine, inspected it and got to rebuild it with some peers, and it worked really well,” he said.

TAFE Queensland’s Career Tasters are designed to help students make informed decisions about their future studies by exposing them to real training environments and industry experiences before they choose their senior subjects.

Johanaes said the program had already influenced his plans for Years 11 and 12.

“It has actually helped because I’m currently doing advanced manufacturing engineering,” he said.

“Maybe next year I will choose engineering at school because we’re building race cars.”

Looking further ahead, Johanaes hopes to pursue a career as a manufacturing engineer in either the automotive or aerospace industries.

For both students, the experience provided valuable insight into the opportunities available through vocational education and gave them greater confidence about what comes next.

When asked what advice they would give other students considering a Career Taster, their responses were straightforward.

“You should, because it’s a great opportunity and it’s fun,” Lucas said.

“They definitely should join these Career Tasters because the opportunity you can get here is way more than you expected,” Johanaes agreed.

Career Tasters are designed for Queensland Year 10 students who are starting to think about what they might like to do after school.

Through short, hands-on learning experiences delivered one day per week, students can test drive different career areas, try real industry skills, and discover what inspires them.

Career Tasters are available across a range of study areas including vehicle trades, construction, engineering and electrical, information technology and business, health and community services, hospitality and tourism, agriculture, and personal services.

Career Tasters is a joint initiative of the Australian Government and Queensland Government.