It’s a good time to consider a career in the growing construction industry and to boost your chances TAFE NSW Yallah has opened its first mid-year intake for people keen to gain the skills in a role vital to the sector – surveying.
Cambewarra resident and TAFE NSW student Brent Nowland is only in his first year of study and work and is already encouraging others to consider the surveying sector.
The construction sector grew by 146,000 workers over the last year with architectural, building surveying technicians making up more than 41,000 workers according to Labour Market Insights.
Mr Nowland studied construction as a Vocational Education and Training (VET) HSC subject at Nowra Anglican College last year. He said it was the leveling section of the course that steered him toward pursuing a surveying career.
He enrolled in the TAFE NSW Certificate III in Surveying and Spatial Information Services and started contacting local surveying companies about work.
“After my HSC I was looking at options into the industry and they were uni or TAFE NSW. I went with a surveying course at TAFE NSW Yallah because it was more practical and would give me the hands-on real-world experience, something I think helped make me more employable in job interviews,” he said.
Now almost six months into his training and new career with the region’s largest surveying company Allen Price & Scarratts, Mr Nowland hasn’t looked back.
“Something I really enjoy about surveying is that I can be in a different environment almost every day, it’s a good mix of working outdoors and in the office.
“There’s a lot of variety in surveying careers. I’m involved in cadastral surveying, which is involves surveying land boundaries and checking new buildings are going to be built in the right place.
“In my TAFE NSW course I’m learning on the same equipment and technology we use in the industry which means I can put what I’m learning to use in the field straight away,” he said.
TAFE NSW Surveying teacher Jane Hayward said surveying and mapping services offered a satisfying career in a growing and ever-changing industry.
“As older surveyors retire, and infrastructure projects continue across the state, we’re seeing increased demand for more people willing to learn these skills, and there’s plenty of work out there.
“For the first time at our Yallah campus we are now offering a mid-year intake for the course to help cater to the growing demand,” she said.
Like in many industries, technology is reshaping how surveyors go about their work and the tools they use.
“Our students work through a mix of theory and practical coursework with industry qualified teachers using industry-standard equipment and technology. This means a student with a TAFE NSW qualification can move easily into the workplace with practical abilities using the latest equipment and techniques.”
Ms Hayward said one of the aspects that attracted Mr Nowland to the industry was true of many surveyors.
“Variety in the workplace does draw people into surveying. It offers a good mix of indoor and outdoor work, plus they get to see the countryside,” she said.
Thanh Le is a director at Allen Price & Scarratts, he said the company is continuing to expand its team of drafts people and surveyors to meet the growing industry demand. “This is a skill that is vital to the construction sector. Surveyors are often the first people on a site before work can get under way,” Mr Le said.
“I was glad to hear about the mid-year intake at Yallah. TAFE NSW is an excellent pathway into this sector because the trainees have the advantage of real-world hands-on experience.”
Media contact: Adam Wright, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, mobile 0466 375 552.