After almost two decades working as a boilermaker in heavy steel fabrication, a worksite accident severely injured Nick Holloway’s arm.
For Holloway, the devastating injury meant the career he had known was over – but thanks to a Victorian program helping injured tradies showcase their knowledge and experience with a new generation, a new chapter has begun.
The VET Trainer Career Pathway Pilot Program is helping injured tradies share their skills as Vocational Education Trainers.
Holloway discovered the program after a recommendation from his occupational therapist and his career transition means his decades of industry knowledge won’t go to waste.
From the tools to the books
Since 2023, scores of injured tradies forced off the tools due to illness or injury have been hitting the books to reskill as VET trainers.
The nine-month pilot program delivers the theoretical and hands-on training needed to become a VET Trainer and empowers participants to teach their specialty VET course in schools, TAFEs or Registered Training Organisations.
As a fully qualified trainer after just one year, Holloway is now ready to tackle the tools again alongside the students at Ringwood Secondary College.
“It’s a very rewarding career, and that’s a big driver for me, I want to see these young people succeed,” he says.
“I was fortunate to have had some older blokes who took me under their wing and taught me a lot when I was younger, and I want to do the same for these young people.”
Spike in VET enrolments
The program is one of many recent initiatives designed to manage the recent spike in VET enrolments across Victoria, as the state’s government continues its campaign to help address the skills shortage and entice secondary school students into the construction industry.
In 2022, the Victorian Government also added a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment – the core qualification required to be a trainer to the Free TAFE list – and expanded the free TAFE eligibility in 2023 to get more Aussies studying for in-demand industry jobs.
Despite these efforts, there is still a state-wide tradie shortage, with the Master Builders’ Association predicting the industry is expected to fall 500,000 workers short between April this year and 2026.
But there is some light at the end of the labour shortage tunnel as Victorian students continue to flock to VET subjects. In 2023, the state recorded 53,820 secondary students who had taken VET courses in their studies – the third consecutive year of increased enrolments.
During his visit to Holloway’s classroom at Ringwood Secondary College earlier this week, Victorian Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll highlighted the growing popularity of VET subjects.
“VET is getting more popular every year and helping our schools achieve some of the highest secondary student retention rates of any state or territory. This program is giving injured works the chance to retrain as educators and train the next generation of workers – while helping schools meet the growing demand for VET trainers.”
