Welcome to the new TBCITB Careers section. You'll find all the information you need on what makes a job a good job, and the building industry career paths. If you can't find the answers that you need on the site, just fill in the feedback form with your query.

What makes a job a good job?

The career you choose and the way you develop your career will play an important part in shaping your life.

When choosing a career you should keep in mind the 'Good Job Checklist'.

Your job should provide:

• satisfaction and employment
• a good income
• relatively stable employment opportunities
• opportunities to progress and develop your career.

An important factor to consider when choosing a career are the chances of getting a job. The Tasmanian building and construction industry employs about 12,000 people. For people who have completed at least a pre-employment training course the prospects of gaining employment are very good. The employment prospects of any particular job in the industry may vary slightly from time to time but on average the employment prospects are strong.

On this basis the building and construction industry can provide you with many career options which fit the 'Good Job Checklist'.

In particular, a trade qualification gives you the advantages of enjoying a good income, having the ability to become self-employed and to travel with that qualification and find work Australia-wide and internationally. The industry also offers you relative security, the chance to participate in 'building the future' and to use new technology.

The industry is also unique in its flexibility. Tradespeople are able to easily exit and re-enter the industry, a facility which is particularly relevant for people who wish to combine a career with family or other responsibilities.

The Tasmanian Building and Construction Industry Training Board has developed this website to illustrate some of the careers that are available and the different career paths that people have taken. If you are already in the industry, then we hope that this website will also serve as a useful tool to show how you can develop your career.

There are dozens of different jobs in the building industry from which you can choose. For many of them there are also several different training paths you can take to achieve the same job qualification.

To find out the training you must do to achieve your chosen job qualification you should ask these questions.

1. Do I want to be a labourer, a plant operator or a rigger?

YES - You do not need any formal qualifications to become a labourer. To operate plant (such as earthmoving and excavating equipment, cranes and forklifts etc.) you may need to be assessed by a Workplace Standards Tasmania registered assessor to gain a certificate of competency. To be assessed you need to obtain the list of registered assessors from Workplace Standards Tasmania and organize for an assessor to examine you. There are a number of registered training organizations which conduct courses on scaffolding, rigging and plant operation. Alternatively you may learn these skills on the job.

2. Do I want to be qualified in a trade and become a plumber, carpenter, electrician, painter etc?

YES - Then you must do an apprenticeship. You may do a pre-employment training course with a registered training organisation such as TAFE which will count towards your apprenticeship, but normally you cannot be a qualified tradesperson unless you do an apprenticeship.

3. Do I want to be able to manage or supervise a building or construction project?

YES - You need to enrol in a Certificate or Diploma course which will train you for jobs in this area. In some cases you do not need your TCE nor do you need to be a qualified tradesperson to train in this area. To go beyond the Diploma level to the next level qualification which is an Advanced Diploma, however, you must either have completed Year 12 or have done an Apprenticeship or any of the Certificate courses. An Advanced Diploma can lead you not only to managerial and supervisory level jobs in the building and construction industry, but also into professional building jobs such as quantity surveyor, project manager etc.

4. Do I want to have a professional qualification in the building and construction industry?

YES - You can achieve a professional building qualification by doing a Diploma as described above or you can do a degree course in Building from a university. To enrol in a degree course you must have passed your TCE unless you are a mature aged student. When selecting your TCE subjects you should talk to your school's careers adviser about which subjects are most suitable for your chosen career path.

5. How can I improve my communication as well as my technical skills?

People in the industry today need a range of different skills to take advantage of new forms of work organization, new technologies, enhanced workplace safety requirements and improved career opportunities. Some of these skills are technical or physical but many involve social and communication skills. The industry promotes training opportunities for current and future industry employees that develop all the skills you will need. For example, if you are not confident about your writing or negotiation skills, you can find a training program that can help you develop these sort of skills at the same time as you learn the technical skills you need.

For information on the options that are available, check out the Tasmanian Building and Construction Industry Training Board website or call the Board on 6223 7804.

6. Can I get recognition for what I already know?

Most building and construction industry training courses will give you credit for any skills which you may already possess from previous training sessions or from on-the-job experience.

For example, if you have worked as a painter's assistant and decide that you want to become a painter, the relevant experience you have had as an assistant will count toward your apprenticeship, reducing the number of hours you need to achieve your trade certificate.

If you already have some of the skills which are taught in a training course, your trainers can give you recognition of that prior learning which means that you skip that part of the course.