The Austral Academy, a program launched this year to engage, educate and support young people looking for alternative career pathways in the seafood industry, officially went interstate this month!
Austral team members Mark Nelson, Northern Finfish Fleet Operations, and Ashley To, HR & Payroll Officer, attended two separate careers-focused events in the Northern Territory to promote the many and varied (but largely unknown) career opportunities in the seafood industry.
Mark Nelson (L), Northern Finfish Junior Fleet Operations
Mark wrote this reflection following his two days at ‘Pathways to Your Future’ held at Nightcliff Middle School:
“Over the last two days I was involved in “Pathways to your future” at Nightcliff middle school,” where year 9, 10 and 11 students from 8 different schools networked with various organisations in regards to career opportunities.
It was great to see a bunch of bright eyed young students who were passionate to learn about the potential pathways into the seafood industry, as well as the jobs associated. Spreading the awareness is very important with the next generation, as what I’m seeing is many people that do not know about potential careers in the seafood industry.
I represented Austral and sat in the seafood industry stall with Katherine Winchester from Northern Territory Seafood Council, Rachel Marr from Humpty Doo Barramundi, and Dean Peeters from Paspaley Pearls. Here we collectively answered any questions that the students had in regards to career pathways, as well as bouncing ideas off each other for potential pathways into our businesses for the next generation.
This was a great opportunity to get involved with the schools, as well as the other influential businesses and organisations within the seafood industry in the Northern Territory, and I was very fortunate to be a part of the event, and to be invited by Katherine as an industry representative for Austral Fisheries.”
Casuarina College students trying out Austral’s VR experience
Ash also shared her experience following her visit to the Casuarina Senior College Futures Festival in Darwin the following week:
Back on the road and off to sunny Darwin this time! I attended the Casuarina Senior College ‘Futures Festival’ and boy was it a festival with over 30 universities and employers showcasing the best of their business. From army trucks and Border Force vessels on display to an ‘Operation-like’ game, high performance cars and virtual reality experiences, there was plenty of action, activities and freebies for students, teachers, and exhibitors to get involved in and collect. The Festival showcased the vast array of study and employment opportunities available to students in Years 10-12 and boy were there a lot of different jobs.
With Humpty Doo Barramundi representing the Aquaculture industry, I went along to fly the flag for wild catch fisheries and spoke about At-Sea opportunities- Deckhands, Engineers, and Skippers within our business. Armed with a test version of our soon to be released virtual reality prawn trawler experience and plenty of Austral merchandise, I was on a mission to educate and expose students to the possibility of making their hobby of fishing with the family on weekends a job.
The students were engaged, polite and inquisitive about the seafood industry. We had many great questions from students. Highlights:
- Did you bring a fishing boat?
- Is it cold in the Sub-Antarctic?
- What is the purpose of Austral Fisheries?
- What are the pros and cons of the job? What is the biggest challenge of the job?
- How do you stop illegal fishing?
- What are the fishing rules and who makes them?
- What qualities do you look for in a person when hiring?
The virtual reality experience was a big hit with many students expressing their surprise at how much they enjoyed it, amazement at the size of the vessel and number of ropes, excitement at using the technology for the first time and pride at how well they could sort bycatch from by-product.
More students giving Austral’s VR experience a go!
For the remainder of students that dropped by, the discovery of the stall with the “t-shirts with the Skulls on it” was the best part of their day.
Whilst a fleeting visit to Darwin, I had a great time educating students about Austral Fisheries and the wider industry, and selling what we do to exhibitors with some hesitations about our industry (might’ve also driven some business to Mr Barra Seafood Shop!). Many walking away with fun facts about what we do and knowledge about what to look for next time they are in the seafood section (hint: MSC blue tick). Mission achieved!
The biggest takeaway from the event was the interest students expressed about sustainable fishing practices and more generally, sustainable consumer behaviours. I had one student enjoy learning about MSC certified seafood so much that he asked to take the whole booklet home “to be more sustainable”. It reassured me that the future is in safe hands and we, as a business, should be doing more to promote the ethical environmental, social and governance practices engage in because I can say with certainty that few knew a fishing company could be carbon neutral and heavily invested in the science of protecting, rehabilitating the waterways and oceans.
Bring on the next event with the wider Austral team at the DPIRD Technology and Career’s Expo at Curtin University on 27-28 August. Watch out- I’m coming back to Perth with plenty of big ideas.
About the Austral Academy
Austral Fisheries seeks to educate, connect and support young Australians about the many opportunities available in the fishing industry. The Austral Academy looks to provide students with at sea opportunities, as well as mentoring by qualified General Managers with varying backgrounds in front-line fishing operations, sales and marketing, finance, and project management during their final years of schooling.
Austral is committed to providing training and development opportunities in the seafood industry for young Australians looking for adventure and careers in the outdoors.
To get in touch and find out more, contact careers@australfisheries.com.au today.