Combining career with education

Content: Starting a new career | Work experience | Apprenticeships and traineeships | Cadetships | Undergraduate development programs | Graduate development programs | Scholarships

Starting a new career?

• Are you thinking about what career you want after you finish school? Or have you left school?
• Have you started your studies at university or TAFE and are looking for on-the-job training to complement your studies?
• Are you about to graduate from TAFE or university? 
• Are you thinking of a career change?

Wollongong City Council offers a number of interesting career opportunities that may suit you including work experience, apprenticeships and traineeships, cadetships, undergraduate and graduate development programs as well as scholarships.

Work experience
If you are a local student at school, TAFE or university and are seeking some valuable 'hands on' experience/exposure to a career or job of interest, then a work experience placement could be arranged with us.

• school students need to arrange their work experience placement through their Careers Advisor.
• other students need to apply in writing telling us about the placement relevance to their studies and when placement is required or preferred.
• all students need to provide evidence they are covered by Insurance Indemnity.

We will seek to meet requests wherever possible, however it will depend on whether the relevant division has the resources available to accommodate the placement.

Apprenticeships and traineeships
We have always been committed to training the youth and unemployed in the local area to help by hosting a variety of trade apprenticeships and traineeships in a diverse range of areas.

Trade Apprenticeships (usually 4 years of training):

• Horticulture (Parks and Gardens/Turf Management/Nursery/Landscape)
• Plumbing
• Carpentry
• Plant Mechanic
• Boilermaking
• Printing
• Drafting

Traineeships (usually 12 months of training):

• Horticulture (Arboriculture)
• Business administration 
• Library and information services
• Health and fitness
• Tourist park operations

Interested in getting hands-on experience while studying at TAFE (or other Registered Training Organisation) and being paid, contact Illawarra Group Training, Hunter Valley Training Company or visit the Department of Education and Training website for a full list of approved and recognised apprenticeships and traineeships.

Cadetships
We have invested substantial time and money in developing young people who have finished their HSC, or recently commenced tertiary studies, into highly sought after professionals. The valuable work experience and skills gained while completing tertiary studies has led many of our cadets into exciting employment opportunities.

Cadetships involve working full time while completing a diploma or degree part time through:

• TAFE - Illawarra Institute.
• University of Wollongong.
• distance education programs at external universities.

Cadetships can vary in duration depending on part time course of study undertaken, and needs of our divisions.

The benefits and working conditions we offer our cadets are impressive:

• valuable on-the-job training with experienced employees;
• mentoring;
• job rotation into various sections of Council broadening your experience base;
• generous starting salary plus annual pay increment depending on your performance;
• full reimbursement of university enrolment and HECS fees or TAFE enrolment fee;
• time off work to attend lectures and tutorials or if distance education, time off for private study;
• time off work to study for and attend examinations;
• time off work to attend residential schools and payment of travel and accommodation allowance;
• access to in-house/external/e-learning training courses;
• access to our Council’s excellent library resources;
• great social network with other cadets.

Council has offered cadetships in a vast array of fields such as:

• Civil Engineering;
• Planning;
• Building Surveying;
• Environmental Science;
• Recreation;
• Information Technology;
• Accounting/Finance;
• Property Management; 
• Community Work;
• Health.

If you're interested in a cadetship with Council, we usually conduct our recruitment drive in August each year advertising on this website as well as in the local papers, The Advertiser, Illawarra Mercury and Lake Times. Information is also sent to Careers Advisors at all local high schools. Successful applicants commence work around end of January the following year.

Undergraduate development program
This program offers university students who have commenced their studies, to gain on-the-job experience to complement their relevant field of study. Excellent performers are rewarded with a guarantee of continued employment upon successful completion of academic studies. To date Council has offered positions in Accountancy/Finance and IT Web Design and Development.

Graduate development program
This program offers fixed term employment to university graduates providing them with the opportunity to gain work experience to build on studies completed in relevant fields. Overseas students, who hold the appropriate visas to work in Australia, may also apply when these opportunities are offered. To date Council has offered positions in IT Web Development.

University of Wollongong Scholarships
Council has been involved in the scholarship programs with the University of Wollongong for several years.  Scholarships we have proudly sponsored in the past include, the Work Integrated Learning Scholarship, where we have sponsored an undergraduate student undertaking full time studies in the field of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering or Network Management and E-Commerce. Council provides the scholarship holder the opportunity to complement their studies with work experience (undertaken during their summer break) in related work areas of Council.