With the end of the school year fast approaching, the Austral Academy was back on the road to Gilmore College in Western Australia to attend its careers expo. Over the course of the morning, students from Years 9 and 10 visited the stalls of construction, engineering, and university/ TAFE related organisations in their Peron Trade Training Centre, the first training centre for excellence in process plant engineering in WA when it opened in late-2016.
Students were immediately attracted to our VR experience and giveaways on offer, but after warming up to the purpose of the event and exhibitors, students hung around and returned for more in-depth and meaningful discussions. For some, this sparked an interest in a possible career in commercial fishing and others, awareness that their preferred trade could see them working on a fishing vessel or in the maritime industry to combine their interests in fishing, being on the ocean and working with their hands.
Austral staff had a great time networking with other exhibitors and teachers and interacting with students.
“It was pretty amazing to see the facilities and resources available to Gilmore College kids within the Peron Trade Training Centre. The kids loved the VR Prawn Trawling experience and for many of them it was their first time seeing a prawn trawler, let alone being (virtually) on board. There were some great questions throughout the day and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a couple of those kids end up working in the fishing or maritime industries eventually.” – Sam Pullman, Media & Comms, Austral Fisheries
