Three former Ulladulla High School students have secured local electrical apprenticeships after taking part in a TAFE NSW career-taster program while still at school.
Wade Carson, 19, Noah Croan, 18, and Reece Harper, 18, first explored the electrical and renewable-energy industries through the TAFE NSW Start Your Future program in Year 10.
The three friends later studied electrotechnology as part of their Higher School Certificate and have now entered the first year of their apprenticeships with South Coast employers.
Their experience demonstrates how early exposure to vocational training can help students make more informed career decisions before leaving school.
Career exploration began in Year 10
Carson, Croan and Harper joined a renewable-energy stream of the Start Your Future program in 2024 while they were students at Ulladulla High School.
At the time, the three were uncertain about the careers they wanted to pursue.
Start Your Future gives school students an opportunity to experience vocational education at a local TAFE NSW campus before committing to a longer course or apprenticeship.
Participants generally attend one day a week over several weeks and undertake practical activities connected with a particular industry.
Depending on the program, students may also meet employers, visit workplaces and receive assistance with items such as personal protective equipment.
The program is intended to help students test whether an occupation suits their interests and abilities. It does not itself provide a complete trade qualification or guarantee employment.
Students continued into HSC electrotechnology
After completing the renewable-energy taster, the three students chose electrotechnology as an HSC subject the following year.
They studied through a TAFE NSW-delivered Trade and Vocational Education and Training course, commonly known as TVET.
TVET allows senior secondary students to undertake vocational training while completing school.
Depending on the course, students may gain nationally recognised units or qualifications that contribute to their HSC and provide experience relevant to further training or employment.
For Carson, Croan and Harper, the course provided a more structured introduction to electrical theory, practical skills and workplace expectations after their initial taster experience.
The pathway allowed them to move progressively from career exploration to formal vocational education and then into paid apprenticeships.
Three apprenticeships secured locally
After completing their HSC, all three obtained electrical apprenticeships with employers on the South Coast.
Carson is employed by Fresh Air Electrical, Croan has joined Solarhive and Harper is undertaking his apprenticeship with Innovate Energy.
They are now first-year apprentices and are expected to begin their first block of formal TAFE NSW apprenticeship training.
An electrical apprenticeship combines paid employment with supervised workplace experience and off-the-job technical education.
The three young men have therefore entered the training pathway but are not yet fully qualified or licensed electricians.
Completing an apprenticeship generally requires several years of workplace and classroom training, competency assessments and satisfaction of the relevant licensing requirements.
Friends return to the classroom together
Carson said it was rewarding that all three friends had entered the same occupation and secured apprenticeships at around the same time.
The apprentices are now expected to return to the classroom together at TAFE NSW while continuing to gain experience with their respective employers.
Carson said the problem-solving element of electrical work was one of the main reasons the trade appealed to him.
His employer, Fresh Air Electrical, works across heating, cooling and electrical services, while Croan and Harper have joined businesses operating in areas connected with solar energy and electrical installation.
Although the students first entered the pathway through a renewable-energy program, their apprenticeships may involve a broader range of domestic, commercial and energy-related electrical work.
Electrician employment continues to grow
The apprentices are entering an occupation experiencing strong workforce demand.
Jobs and Skills Australia records approximately 197,300 electricians nationally and annual employment growth of about 7,200 workers in its latest occupation profile.
However, annual employment growth does not mean 7,200 unfilled electrician positions are currently available.
The figure measures the change in the number of people employed in the occupation over the reporting period and may be influenced by new entrants, returning workers and changes in data collection.
Local apprenticeship opportunities also depend on the number of employers willing and able to recruit, supervise and retain apprentices.
Electrical trades critical to clean-energy transition
Jobs and Skills Australia has identified 38 occupations considered critical to Australia’s clean-energy transformation.
Electricians and electrical engineers are among the occupations expected to be particularly important in developing, installing, operating and maintaining renewable generation, energy storage, transmission networks and technologies that use clean electricity.
The agency has warned that Australia will need to increase the number of electrical apprentices and qualification completions to meet future workforce demand.
It also expects clean-energy-related employment growth to be particularly significant in several regional areas, including parts of northern and southern NSW.
This creates potential career opportunities for young people entering the industry, but it also increases pressure on the training system to provide sufficient teachers, facilities and workplace placements.
Practical experience helps students choose
TAFE NSW Ulladulla electrotechnology teacher Matthew Thomson said career-taster programs allowed students to experience an industry before making important decisions about further education and employment.
Hands-on learning can help students understand the realities of a trade, including its technical requirements, physical work, safety responsibilities and problem-solving demands.
It may also help employers identify young people who already possess introductory skills and a demonstrated interest in the occupation.
The three Ulladulla students’ progression should not be interpreted as proof that every taster participant will secure an apprenticeship.
Their outcomes also depended on completing further electrotechnology training, applying for positions and finding local employers prepared to take them on.
A staged pathway from school to work
The experience of Carson, Croan and Harper involved several separate stages:
- Participation in a Year 10 renewable-energy taster
- Selection of electrotechnology as an HSC vocational subject
- Completion of school and relevant TVET training
- Successful applications for local apprenticeships
- Entry into paid workplace training
- Continuing technical study through TAFE NSW
The story was publicly reported on 3 August 2026, with all three described as first-year apprentices preparing to begin their next block of TAFE training.
Their progress shows how vocational tasters can provide an entry point into a career pathway, particularly for students who have not yet decided what they want to do after school.
The longer-term outcome will depend on the apprentices completing their workplace and TAFE requirements and progressing towards full trade qualification and licensing.
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