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Speaker 1: We know that a new trades training center at Charles

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Speaker 1: Doowen University's Casarina campus has been officially opened. The ten

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Speaker 1: million dollars center is going to cater to more than

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Speaker 1: five hundred students per year, offering qualifications in construction, carpentry, plumbing,

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Speaker 1: and electro technology. The center is going to be vital

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Speaker 1: in growing the territory's own workforce to meet industry demand.

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Speaker 1: And joining me on the line is Charlesdowen University's pro

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Speaker 1: Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of TAIFE, Michael Hamilton. Good morning, Michael.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Katian. How are you today.

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Speaker 1: I'm very good, lovely to speak to you, mate. This

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Speaker 1: is great news. Talk me through the new features of

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Speaker 1: this trade center.

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Speaker 2: Well, I mean, it's very exciting for us, but more importantly,

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Speaker 2: it's very exciting for industry because this is where the

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Speaker 2: future of the territory starts. We've got brand new, vibrant

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Speaker 2: environment to learn in. We've got new stag equipped, we've

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Speaker 2: got new tools. It's a great space. We're setting up

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Speaker 2: the skills base so that they reflect modern architecture. All

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Speaker 2: of those things are really relevant to the development of

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Speaker 2: trades in the territory and as you know, Katie, we

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Speaker 2: need more tradees.

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Speaker 1: Well, this is it, right, and we need more of

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Speaker 1: our kids wanting to enter trades, yeah, one hundred percent.

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Speaker 2: And in that environment, it's not just the apprentices I

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Speaker 2: mean we've got a lot of apprentices over two thousand,

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Speaker 2: one hundred and seventy last year across all the trades,

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Speaker 2: of course, but we also do vetting schools, programs and

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Speaker 2: other prevocational courses which this space will be utilized for

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Speaker 2: to prepare people for employment in the future. And so

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Speaker 2: if they're picked up into an apprenticeship with an employer,

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Speaker 2: that they've got those requisite skills to start from day

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Speaker 2: one and start their career in their chosen trades.

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Speaker 1: Michael, how vital is the center when it comes to

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Speaker 1: securing a skilled workforce for the future.

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Speaker 2: Our facilities have to be upbeat, they have to be modern,

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Speaker 2: they've got to be in good condition, and you know,

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Speaker 2: with such a throughput of students that can be quite

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Speaker 2: a challenge. With this new center, it not only sets

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Speaker 2: the scene for a very good learning environment for our

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Speaker 2: cartenters and our roof plumbers and other associated trades, it's

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Speaker 2: actually allowing a little bit of airspace back through our

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Speaker 2: other infrastructure on campus so that we can accommodate significant growth,

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Speaker 2: particularly in electro technology and plumbing, and so you know,

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Speaker 2: we're just running out of room. But that's a good

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Speaker 2: thing for the territory. We want more trades and so I.

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Speaker 1: Mean, will there be plans in the future. I guess

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Speaker 1: it's very early. We've just got this new center, but

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Speaker 1: will there be plans in the future to expand to

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Speaker 1: make it bigger?

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm glad you laugh, because we're actually going to

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Speaker 2: We've actually been given the green light on a Commonwealth

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Speaker 2: front of project in Catherine for a trades training center

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Speaker 2: at our Catherine Rural Campus as well. And so what

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Speaker 2: we think we can do there, there's a few benefits

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Speaker 2: of that one. So just like this one, we'll have

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Speaker 2: modern equipment, good learning environment. But for those people that

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Speaker 2: live in the Big Rivers region, they can learn in

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Speaker 2: their own in their own region, because not only do

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Speaker 2: we want to keep people in the territory, but for

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Speaker 2: our trades that originate in the region, we really need

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Speaker 2: them in the regions more so than anywhere else.

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Speaker 1: How are the numbers looking like, how are the enrollments

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Speaker 1: looking across the border? We find like more of our

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Speaker 1: more young and older people wanting to enter and do

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Speaker 1: a trade.

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Speaker 2: Well, it's another great question. Look in the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 2: because of our low population density, we've got a really

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Speaker 2: good broad representation of demographics in doing apprenticeships. Our apprenticeship

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Speaker 2: numbers have been going up about ten percent each year

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Speaker 2: of about the last four years running. And I just

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Speaker 2: looked at the numbers and reported back to staff that

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Speaker 2: year to date we're up ten percent on last year.

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Speaker 2: And last year was just it was the biggest year

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Speaker 2: ever for us. Like I said, we had two one

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Speaker 2: hundred and seventy students have apprentices last year. This year,

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Speaker 2: I'm sort of tipping it might be around twenty three hundred.

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Speaker 1: Well, I mean, they are fantastic numbers. They're fantastic numbers, Michael.

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Speaker 1: Do you find like, are most people entering or are

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Speaker 1: most people doing their trade through school or have you

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Speaker 1: got a number of mature age students as well?

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Speaker 2: Well? We do pre vocational training through school's programs across

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Speaker 2: the Northern Territory. There's also been an uptick in what

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Speaker 2: they call school based apprenticeships or are apart time apprenticeship

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Speaker 2: that allows people to continue to get their NTCET whilst

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Speaker 2: commencing their career. I'm a real supporter of that. I

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Speaker 2: know that to men in college have been doing some

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Speaker 2: great work there. We certainly have school based apprentices here

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Speaker 2: as well throughout all of our trades program. Then you've

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Speaker 2: got your excuse me, then you've got your traditional apprentice

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Speaker 2: that comes along and does their four year apprenticeship full time.

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Speaker 2: As I said before, the demographics, I guess they're usually

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Speaker 2: entry level, but there is a higher proportion these days

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Speaker 2: of mature age apprentices as well, and certainly for the

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Speaker 2: benefit of the territory, if anyone's listening out there, consider

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Speaker 2: doing a trade. I've done a trade. I'm a planet

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Speaker 2: by trade, and it was the best thing I ever did, you.

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Speaker 1: Know, Like I just reckon. It's such a great thing

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Speaker 1: for young people or middle aged, whatever age you are.

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Speaker 1: Really it is such a great thing to have a

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Speaker 1: trade behind you. And as the world sort of changes

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Speaker 1: with AI and all that kind of thing, and we see,

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Speaker 1: you know, different university degrees maybe be utilized in different ways.

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Speaker 1: I just think having a trade and being able to

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Speaker 1: do something with your hands is something that we are

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Speaker 1: always going to need, right, Oh.

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Speaker 2: Aun of us and look, you'd make a great electrician

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Speaker 2: about that.

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Speaker 1: I'm a bit useless with my hands.

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Speaker 2: Anyway, We've got Look, people go to university for all

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Speaker 2: the reasons that they should, so if they're chasing a

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Speaker 2: professional career, good on them. But the acknowledgment of the

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Speaker 2: value of doing a trade or doing a vocational, especially

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Speaker 2: a higher level vocational qualification. These days, it's got more value.

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Speaker 2: In fact, just recently they've introduced a new qualification level

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Speaker 2: in the Australian Qualifications Framework and that's a vocational degree

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Speaker 2: where you can do a degree on the job, and

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Speaker 2: so we're looking at what we can do in that

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Speaker 2: space too, but it's a very new thing, but it's

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Speaker 2: sort of that's the interplace between vocational and higher education.

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Speaker 1: Michael, A couple of my own personal interest questions. What's

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Speaker 1: the most popular.

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Speaker 2: Trade at the moment? If you're talking about apprentices, electro

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Speaker 2: technology is absolute going through the roof. If anyone out

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Speaker 2: there is an electrician, it must to be a teacher

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Speaker 2: let us know, because they're not thick on the ground.

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Speaker 2: But I'll tell you what is thick on the ground,

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Speaker 2: and that is electrical apprentices. And last year we had

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Speaker 2: four hundred and eighty just in electro technology only.

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Speaker 1: Jobs are they going into then electrician? Yeah, right, and

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Speaker 1: that I suppose that's across a number of different fields

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Speaker 1: as well as Nash it is.

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Speaker 2: We've also seen an expansion in our lot, not numbers

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Speaker 2: like that, but you know electrician now you're starting to

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Speaker 2: look at cyber and that data and communication plumbing's up

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Speaker 2: by sixty percent at the moment. So you know, there's

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Speaker 2: nearly a couple of hundred of those in apprentices now.

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Speaker 1: So they're the most that's the most popular. What's the

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Speaker 1: most in demand? Do you know what is the area

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Speaker 1: that most people need? You know, I need an apprentice

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Speaker 1: or a TRADEE Well.

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Speaker 2: Great question for iac and tea, but pretty much most

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Speaker 2: of the trades. I know, the automotive industry are really

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Speaker 2: crying out for workers at the moment, particularly fully qualified,

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Speaker 2: but of course to get there you should do an apprenticeship.

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Speaker 2: These are mechanics in particular, they're heavy deals on mechanics.

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Speaker 2: They're in demand. All of the construction industries are in

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Speaker 2: demand at the moment.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, I just think it's really fascinating and i've

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Speaker 1: you know, as somebody who's who's got kids that are

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Speaker 1: kind of in those teenage years. I think it's I

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Speaker 1: think it's a really good option for our young people

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Speaker 1: and like I've been saying, people of any age in

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Speaker 1: terms of those I know. There's also a number of

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Speaker 1: free tape places on offer. What courses does that include?

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Speaker 2: So free tape. There's a couple of different elements of

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Speaker 2: free tape. So the one that's currently implemented at the

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Speaker 2: moment is across quite specific areas such as health and

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Speaker 2: clean energy and digitals like that digital space that's the

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Speaker 2: traditional one. They've just released another one hundred and seventy

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Speaker 2: places for the Northern Territory specific to construction and so,

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Speaker 2: and they'll be a combination of places for pre vocational

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Speaker 2: and I'm really a supporter of that. I think that

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Speaker 2: prevocational is underrepresented in the Northern Territory, and I think

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Speaker 2: that's mostly because if you're upright, you've got a pulse

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Speaker 2: and you're interested, you've got an apprenticeship. But the value

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Speaker 2: of pre vocational is so good to industry because the

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Speaker 2: young people that do it really do come out. They

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Speaker 2: know what the tools are, they know how to use them,

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Speaker 2: and so right of day one they can add some

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Speaker 2: value and benefit to the employer.

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Speaker 1: We'll see to you. Pro Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive

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Speaker 1: of TAFE, Michael Hamilton. Great to speak with you this morning.

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Speaker 1: I found it very interesting and yeah, I'm fascinated as

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Speaker 1: well by those trades and the ones that are popular,

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Speaker 1: but the ones that are most in demand as well well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks so much for your time, Katie.

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Speaker 1: Thank you lovely to talk to you really appreciate us