Shawndel came to Tec-NQ midway through Year 10 because he wanted to get started on a trade.
Plumbing made sense. His dad runs a plumbing business, there was always work around, and Shawndel liked the idea of having a trade he could take anywhere.
“There’ll always be a plumbing job for you,” he said.
While he was at Tec-NQ, Shawndel lived at Tec-NQ House and says it was the best boarding environment he had experienced.
For him, the privacy and independence stood out, but so did the support. He remembers spending afternoons talking plumbing with one of the boarding staff, while Heather helped connect him with Complete Plumbing for work experience.
That gave him a chance to get out on site while he was still at school and see what the trade was actually like.
Now, Shawndel is working as a plumbing apprentice with his dad and is back at Tec-NQ for his full-time trade training.
The training looks different now. There is more time spent on practical work, including in Tec-NQ’s plumbing tower, where he can work through jobs that are close to what he is doing in the workplace.
He is also starting to notice how much more he knows than when he first started.
Talking about drainage work he was preparing to complete during training, Shawndel said, “It’ll be pretty easy because I know what I’m doing.”
He expects to finish his apprenticeship next year.
After that, he is still working out exactly what comes next. One option is to stay with his dad and eventually take over the family business. He has also thought about working elsewhere for a while, or even adding another trade later on.
For now, he is focused on finishing plumbing and getting qualified.
His advice to students thinking about doing the same is just as straightforward.
“Go Tec if you want to start working.”
From school and boarding, to work experience, an apprenticeship and now full-time training, Shawndel’s journey shows how the pathway can keep moving after Year 12.