New Year's resolution goals: Start your career straight out of high school!
The beginning of 2019 is just around the corner and it's time to think about the next chapter of your life. As you're on your way out of high school, vocational qualifications and training in hospitality should be your top priority for the new year. Vocational study refers to any course that integrates real work experience with a competency-based training and assessment program. This means you'll be working in your chosen industry from the get-go, and will have your skills carefully nurtured to ensure you're equipped for long-term career success.
Here's why 2019 is the perfect time to start a vocational qualification:
1. There's a hospitality and events skills shortage in Australia
Skilled hospitality workers are in high-demand, so choosing real skills for a real career is the smart decision.
Throughout the country, skilled hospitality roles are being left unfilled due to a shortage of viable candidates.
In August 2018, there were an estimated 17,100 jobs left vacant in Australia's accommodation and food services industry, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Furthermore, the Department of Jobs and Small Business reports that of an average 9.8 job applicants in the food trades sector, only one will be suitable for the role, and 48 per cent of employers fail to fill their vacancies.
Meanwhile, the meetings and events sector is also struggling to recruit, with 47 per cent of employers citing a skills shortage as their primary obstacle, reports Meetings and Events Australia.
With so many jobs left vacant at the hands of this skills shortage, entering the industry equipped with relevant skills gives you the competitive edge over other candidates. Simply put, choosing vocational education and training in hospitality ensures you're stepping into a sector with enormous potential for employment and ongoing career growth. Skilled hospitality and events employees are in high demand, so choosing real skills for a real career is the smart decision.
2. You can appease your commitment-phobia with vocational education and training
When thinking about your future career, what would you prioritise?
An Ernst and Young survey of 1,600 Generation Z interns highlighted the importance of these key factors when considering their careers:
- Career progression and growth (84 per cent of respondents).
- Job satisfaction (66 per cent).
- Flexibility (50 per cent).
Momentum and variety are critical to your future success. You want to feel like your career is moving and you have the flexibility to work where and how you choose. Furthermore, doing what you're passionate about is more important than salary.
You don't have to commit three years of your life to a degree.
Choosing a VET course means you'll be gaining real transferrable skills to form a flexible career. Thanks to shorter qualifications, you also won't have to commit three years of your life to a degree, making more time for a diverse career future.
3. Your career can start immediately with a vocational qualification
On that note, a vocational qualification will put you in the workforce from day one!
With progression of such high importance, starting your career as early as possible gives you a leg up on other students your age. When you choose Kenvale College for a diploma or certificate, you'll begin part-time employment with one of our industry partners alongside your education. Not only does this mean you can earn immediately, you'll also take those crucial first steps onto the career ladder well before your peers. Our 100 per cent graduate employment rate guarantees continued work after earning your qualification and can see you earning a full-time salary with two or three promotions behind you as early as 20 or 21 years old.
4. Vocational study opens up a future of opportunities
Need another reason? How about: Why not?
Australians aged 18 years old today are expected to experience 17 different jobs across five unique careers in their lifetime, according to McCrindle. Your future is rife with opportunities - you might go from leading some of the world's most prestigious hotels to handling global marketing strategies, for example. Choosing your area of study now doesn't box you into a single career path. Instead, you can open your world to countless more options by equipping yourself with real transferrable skills.
The many hard and soft skills required to succeed in hospitality or events are widely applicable in a huge range of other industries, especially in the largest and fastest growing service sector. Further to this, a vocational qualification combined with four or five years of employment is recognised by universities and opens pathways into post-graduate study should you choose to upskill or retrain later in life.
5. You'll gain globally transferrable skills with vocational training
We can't emphasise the value of real skills enough.
While a nationally recognised qualification will of course see you succeeding here on home soil, you might be surprised just how broadly the skills you'll gain can apply not only to other sectors but also other countries. Hospitality sectors all across the world are in need of skilled professionals. Skills shortages rank among the top concerns for hospitality business owners in the United Kingdom and United States, according to the NFU Mutual and Oregon State University respectively. All across the world, service proficiencies are moving to the forefront of employers' demands as automation highlights the value of human interactions to the customer experience.
The real skills that can only be gained through vocational training are transferrable across borders, meaning your future of work can take you across the world if you let it. Holding the right skills allows you to chase your travel dreams, experience work overseas and establish a global career.
Wherever your life takes you, your starting point should be a vocational qualification. Open your world to infinite possibilities with a course at Kenvale College - reach out today to find out more.
