Entering their seventh year, National Skills Week (August 28 – September 3) aims to celebrate the diversity and career pathways through vocational education, enabling Australians to gain a greater understanding of the opportunities of the future.
More than you know
This year’s focus centres on skills and trade being more than you know. What does this mean? NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro described in perfectly in a recent interview saying “what traditional traineeships looked like 10 years ago is vastly different to what it looks like today and heading into the future with technological advancements of pneumatics and robotic engineering. We want to be able to give young people and people, in general, the opportunity to gain real skills for a real future”.
Despite common perceptions, at least nine out of ten jobs of the future come out of a vocational education pathway, particularly due to more funding spread across the age care, transport, construction and tourism sectors. Barilaro believes that young people entering trades don’t just get a great job, but a great career and lifestyle, also stating that with changes to the 457 visa, now is the time to grow our own workforce.
During National Skills Week, and stretching through to the end of the year, there are over 50 events, exhibitions and conferences dedicated to the opportunities and emerging trends because of vocational education.
The Drake Group investing in apprentices for over 25 years
At The Drake Group, as a heavy equipment trailers expert, we know first-hand how rapid technological change impacts all sectors of the transport industry. The increasing use of technology and the ever-changing face of manufacturing in is one of many reasons why we are so dedicated to transferring skills, knowledge and passion onto the next generation, partly to ensure our industry is in safe hands, but also to encourage innovation and leadership.
Drake Trailers, in particular, has been working with Apprenticeships Queensland for 25 years, and every single one of their 170 highly skilled staff members has had a role to play in the development and training of each apprentice that walks through our Wacol manufacturing facility.
Whether our apprentices train in diesel fitting, boiler making, sheet metal, electrotechnology or vehicle body trimming, painting and building, they are guaranteed expert knowledge and training with the focus on safety Drake Trailers is known for.
On this, Drake Trailers general manager Khali Lake explained their approach to ensuring apprentices are well-equipped for the future “We’ve embraced technological change, such as moving to robotic welding and our apprentices are gaining valuable practical experience working with this new technology while also learning from our highly skilled senior team of designers, metal fabricators and mechanics combining new skills with proven industry expertise.” Lake believes that by focusing on long term-quality processes when training apprentices, Drake Trailers can maintain their position as an industry leader.
For more information on working with The Drake Group apprenticeship program, or our innovative range of transport trailers for heavy haulage, get in contact with us today.
The Drake Group are a collection of expert engineering and manufacturing companies for products both on land and sea. Launched in 2017, The Drake Group is comprised of Drake Trailers, Drake Collectibles, O’Phee Trailers, BoXLoader and Sunseeker East Coast Australia.
