CAITLIN AYLMER is not your average paint-by-the-numbers type of girl. In fact, as painting and decorating apprentice, she is learning techniques and styles that will stand her in good stead for a long and successful trades career.

As Caitlin discovered, there are a variety of hues and shades to explore when it comes too career choices. It took Cailtin a little while to work out the colour chart to her future, but now that she’s there, she couldn’t be happier.

It was in Year 11 at Sacred Heart when Cailtin began realizing that rolling along the expected path through VCE into university was not for her: The problem was that she didn’t know what other streams she could follow.

A teacher happened to mention the Geelong Technical Education Centre and the picture started to clear for Caitlin. I did work experience at Haymes Paints when I was still in Year 11 at Sacred Heart and I really enjoyed that, so I thought I’d like to try painting and decorating as a trade,” she says.

Caitlin completed Year 12 at GTEC last year, gaining her Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). It was good because all the subjects I did related to my core trade. Physical fitness was a key part of the program because fitness is important in trades such as painting and decorating, “she says.

“We spent time doing normal schoolwork, but then I also did trade school and spent time on the job.”

Caitlin and her host employer, P and D Services’ Steve Jewson, have been working on a newly constructed sprawling coastal mansion for a prominent Geelong surf retailer. “You need really good attention to detail and to be able to follow the right processes to ensure the job is done right – especially on a job like this one.” Steve explains.

Steve said he spoke to his other employees when considering taking on Caitlin as an Apprentice. “Sometimes in the trades a master/apprentice relationship doesn’t work out and by employing Caitlin through G-Force, it enabled everyone involved to be certain that there was the support needed if there were any issues,” he says.

A progressive company, P and D Services recently fulfilled the requirements to become the region’s only accredited ‘green’ painters after completing a sustainable painters course with Sustainability Victoria.

Caitlin stills has weekend shifts at McDonalds’ even though she has full-time work – an indication of her strong work ethics, Steve says.

Equally important was the parental support Caitlin received. “Mum and Dad were happy to see me find something I was keen on. They didn’t really worry about the fact that I wasn’t going to uni,” she says.

G-Force apprenticeship services operations manager Paul Ryan, explains an SBA is ideal for students who feel standard pathway is not for them. “ A school-based apprenticeship is a great way to gain secondary school qualifications and work experience at the same time – earn and learn,” he says. “The employer gets the opportunity to try a potential new worker and the apprentice gets a taster of their chosen trade.”

An Australia School-based Apprentice (ASbA) bridges the gap between school and work. “Students gradually gain maturity as their responsibilities slowly increase,” Paul explains.

“ASbA’s can be started in Year 10 and the pay is the National Training Wage or the award rate for that trade.”

Traineeships also offer the opportunity to gain a nationally recognized qualification while learning on the job, he adds. An initiative to increase female participation and promotion of the trades has been launched: ACTnow (Attract, Create and Train) was undertaken with the support of Skills Victoria and the Commonwealth Government. “G-Force provides mentoring and support to the apprentice and the host employer, with a special focus on factors known to help women enter and remain in their trades, “Paul says.

“We want to get more females participating and recognizing the opportunities that exist within the trades and allay some of the misconceptions that exist around females being able to work in the trade environment from both the employer and apprentice point of view.”

Caitlin is Steve’s tenth apprentice and with most of his previous apprentices now working for themselves, Caitlin’s future looks just as bright.