10 school visits, 3 careers expos, across 3 different states reaching over 600 students and young Aussies!
2022 has been a big one for the Austral Academy since we launched just 6 months ago. We deliberately kicked off the Academy’s first year with a “quiet” launch and were excited to see the it build momentum and interest much faster than anyone expected! This culminated in visits to schools and careers events in WA, the NT (twice), and SA.
The Austral Academy seeks to connect and support young people with exciting professional careers in the fishing industry. Successful Academy applicants are provided with sea-going opportunities, mentoring from our experienced team including General Managers, and opportunities to complete additional certificates and training whilst still in school, to give them a head start on their chosen career pathway in the fishing industry.
The 13 school and expos we attended this year included:
- Governor Stirling SHS, WA
- Casuarina SHS, NT
- Gilmore College, WA
- John Tonkin College, WA
- Harrisdale SHS, WA
- Wanneroo Secondary College, WA
- Comet Bay College, WA
- Greenwood College, WA
- Kelmscott SHS, WA
- Pathways to your Future, NT
- DPIRD Expo and Innovation Competition, WA
- WTFuture? Festival, SA
- Fremantle College, WA
Austral staff from Marketing, Logistics, Sales, Environment and Policy, Operations, HR, Safety, Finance and Quality have all attended at least one of the above events to speak about their fields of expertise. This has included presentations to students on sustainability (MSC certification), carbon neutral, bycatch, plastics, fishing practices, safety and risk, quality assurance, engineering, and career pathways.
“I did a little survey on the kids about the incursion, and it was an overwhelming success from their perspective as well. 98% thought they got some information about the industry and about careers in the industry. I would definitely be interested in having you back again next year.
Well done to you and your team and thank you!”
- Debra, John Tonkin College
“Thank you, it was a great presentation and the fact that the students were willing to sacrifice half of their lunch break to talk further clearly indicates their interest in knowing more about Austral and the career opportunities available.”
- Kellie, Fremantle College
As part of the career education component to the Academy, Austral have developed materials outlining the possible At Sea career pathways in line with Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) requirements, ‘Day in the Life’ photo stories of Skippers, Engineers, and Deckhands, and ‘Careers in Fishing’ profiles of our staff and crew to show students that ‘they can be it’ regardless of their background or education.
The Academy saw its first student graduate and join our At Sea crew as a Deckhand in Darwin from January 2023. The student was referred to us from Fremantle College after his teacher spotted our logo on the side of our building on her way down the freeway. Finn completed over 100 hours of work placement in our West Leederville Head Office as part of his Year 12 graduation requirements. During this time, Finn completed his Shipboard Safety Skill Set, First Aid and Coxswain Grade 2 tickets, assisted with the refit and sea trial of the FV Comac Endeavour, supported marketing activities and learnt about the scientific concepts grounding our operations. Through the school, Finn also completed his Cert 2 in Aquaculture at South Metro TAFE.
“Austral Fisheries was an excellent way to finish school and start my career as a young adult as they gave me support to do other courses that I wanted to do but would not of had the opportunity until I was well out of school.
I was shown an inside view into what commercial fishing and the flow of luxury seafood throughout Australia and abroad is really like, which I found both fascinating and exciting as I now have been given the opportunity to experience this lifestyle after school.”
- Finn, Austral Academy student
We have also connected with Registered Training Organisations around Australia to ensure students have access to the best learning environment and resources to understand the theoretical and practical components of their selected qualification.
Looking ahead to 2023, Austral are expanding our reach to some of the biggest career events in each Australian state/ territory; all in an effort to promote professional careers in the fishing industry and identify talent. Our goal will be to recruit a few more students into the Academy over the course of 2023 and prepare them to go to sea in 2024.