After working for years as a boilermaker in the mines, Curtley Quakawoot is forging a new career as a schoolteacher as part of the Queensland Government’s Trade to Teach (T2T) internship program offered through CQUniversity.
Since completing his Certificate III in Engineering Fabrication in 2010, Quakawoot quickly found work in the mining industry.
“I spent three years post-trade on the tools out in the Bowen Basin in the coal mining industry before heading into a product conveyor support role as a sales and service technician,” he says.
“After pursuing that role for another seven years, an opportunity arose to take on a Queensland management role, but unfortunately, I was made redundant during the Covid-19 period, so I went back out the mines as a supervisor.”
After a few challenging years, Quakawoot decided it was time for a new direction – and that’s when he put down the tools to explore a career change as a teacher.
Through the T2T internship program, the Queensland Government provides financial support, a paid internship teaching position and a subsequent permanent teaching position for qualified tradespeople.
“I wanted more time at home raising my family and working with students, so I applied for a teacher’s aide position at Mackay North High School and discovered I really enjoyed working with the students,” says Quakawoot, who spent two years with Education Queensland undertaking a number of roles, including teacher aide, community education counsellor, trainer/assessor at Mackay Engineering College, before teaching the Cert II in Engineering course.
Bridging the gap between industry and education
In his second year of the internship, Quakawoot says he enjoys the structure of CQU’s training and is currently employed as an intern at North Mackay State High School.
“It has been good doing my internship at a different school to my first year prac placement, I’ve learned a lot from the staff and how some schools run slightly different.”
Quakawoot says he would encourage any tradesperson looking for a change to consider the T2T Internship Program.
“It’s a well-supported system tailored to bridging the gap between industry and tertiary education,” Quakawoot says.
From the perspective of Mackay North State High School Principal Catherine Rolfe, “Curtley is a valued member of the trade team at school, given his trade experience and strong connections with the students”.
“He is a great role model,” she says.
Applications for the 2025 intake of the Trade to Teach Internship Program close on 22 September 2024.
