TWO recent school leavers are digging into their future careers after enrolling in TAFE Queensland’s plumbing pre-apprenticeship course at Alexandra Hills.
For Fayzal Abdi Mohamed, plumbing began as a back-up plan while he applied to join the military.
But just weeks into the Certificate II in Plumbing Services, the trade quickly became his first choice.
“I really like that at TAFE we’re taught using actual scenarios we would see as a plumber, not examples that are irrelevant like I found at school,” he said.
“When we learn about the Australian Standards and finding the right fall for trenches, we do it by actually getting into the digging pit and setting out a trench.
“Now that I’ve gotten some skills and I know more about what a plumber does and how technical it is, it’s my top choice for a career.
“After this course I want to get an apprenticeship in plumbing, because the work is enjoyable and I know I’ll never be out of work.”
Classmate Angelo Warner said he enrolled in the 10-week course to give himself the best chance of landing a plumbing apprenticeship.
“I saw so many job ads asking for the pre-apprenticeship, so I looked up the course and enrolled,” he said.
“I’ve been surprised at how technical and specific the Australian Standards are in plumbing.
“Things like the angle of fall in trenches needing to be exact is something I hadn’t considered before, and it makes me definitely want to be a plumber.
“To see that it’s a technical trade and there’s a lot of thinking and problem solving involved makes it a good career with different things each day.”
