Study Gold Coast recently launched the third incarnation of its graduate accelerator program Kickstart. This year 28 team members from 15 different employers are taking part in the eight month personal development program. Participants will engage in half-day workshops every three weeks, focusing on building skills that will not only benefit themselves but also their employers.

At the launch employers and graduates who had previously participated in the program shared their experiences of how it had transformed their workplaces while providing essential professional skills for graduates.

Tertiary education provides students with many things – career specific knowledge, technical skills, problem solving capabilities and personal growth among them, but one area not often addressed is the soft skills that make us better professionals in our chosen field. That’s why Study Gold Coast developed Kickstart –  a program specifically designed to provide graduates with practical workplace skills to build their effectiveness within their organisation.

Throughout the Kickstart Program participants receive varied training through experiential learning; practical and interactive workshops; as well as coaching from executive and career co-facilitators with mentoring through the completion of a significant project.

This year was the second time Kickstart had been run, with 20 participants representing 15 employers taking part in the program. Participants delivered their final presentations to an enthusiastic audience this week, with their employers proudly looking on. Employees and their employers were universally effusive in their praise for the program, with all parties recognising the mutual benefits from the experience.  

Devasehnan Archunan originally planned to pursue a career in tourism, but just after he attained his Tourism Management degree in Malaysia the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and effectively shut down the international tourism industry. While weighing up his options Deva decided to accompany his grandfather on a trip to Australia, who wanted to visit Deva’s uncle on the Gold Coast.

As Deva had spent much of his young life caring for his grandparents, he began to consider the prospect of a career in the sector.

“COVID was a turning point in my life because it impacted the tourism industry so significantly and I began to reconsider my career path”, Deva says. “Taking care of your family members is an Asian tradition and something I had already been doing at home with my grandmother and grandfather, so I thought why not take care of people as a career?”

FurTastic Friends by Bocchetta is a family owned business that designs lifelike plush stuffed animals. The business began in Italy in 1948 and is now based in Burleigh Heads with their toys distributed around the world. 

As the business has grown so too has their intake of trainees. Their latest is Ambra, who is currently studying at the Australian Industry Trade College at Robina.

“I’m currently studying a Certificate III in Business at AITC and I like the business aspects of the job at Bocchetta – invoicing, processing orders and office administration, but since starting my traineeship I’ve learnt so many other aspects of the business which I now also enjoy” Ambra says.

Kynd is a new way to connect people living with disabilities with support workers. The Kynd platform allows NDIS participants to match their specific needs and interests with support workers who are most suited to their requirements, while for support workers it gives the freedom for work when and where they want and with the people they want to assist.

Michael Metcalfe says he started Kynd because “for too long the way people living with disabilities and support workers got together was so complex – everything was so frustrating and such a hassle. It’s 2021 and NDIS support needs to become much simpler”.  

The Kynd app was started on the Gold Coast three years ago and after some spectacular growth in South-East Queensland is now rolling out across the state, with plans to expand nationally in the future.

Dan the Sparky Man is one of the most successful and trusted electrical businesses on the Gold Coast, providing electrical services to builders, small-scale developers and homeowners. The company had its roots in Adelaide before Dan carpenter and his wife Kelly relocated to the Gold Coast in 2006. Since then the business has grown substantially, currently employing fourteen people, including four apprentices.

“We give our apprentices an opportunity to learn very quickly early on. When I started out I worked for guys that just wanted me to sweep or clean up the van, whereas our approach is to expose our apprentices to a broad scope of areas and teach them up front. We might be working on a new home and they’ll be pre wiring switchboards within their first few weeks on the job. We give them leeway to learn quicker and that benefits us as well. We often find our apprentices’ knowledge and skills are far advanced when compared to apprentices from other employers.”

Riviera has been building luxury watercraft on the Gold Coast for 40 years. From humble beginnings the company has grown to become an internationally competitive force in the marine industry. As Australia’s largest builder of luxury motor yachts Riviera is the jewel of the Coomera Marine Precinct, which is the largest facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere.  

The company has over 600 personnel working on site daily with a further 1500 suppliers providing parts and contract labour. Needless to say, Riviera is an incredibly significant player within the local economy and Queensland’s booming boat industry.

Traditionally the trade industry hasn’t attracted a lot of females outside of administrative roles, but the shape of that workforce is beginning to change. Ella Flack has been working on the tools as a tradie for the past seven years in a broad range of roles, skills that have come in very handy after landing a job with the Caravan Guys on the Gold Coast.

“I love working here because it brings all of the trade elements together”, says Ella. “It’s like building mini houses on wheels. I’ve always wanted to work on caravans because they cover the basis of every trade – plumbing, electrical, carpentry… you name it. You can do sheeting and welding too – it’s incredible. You don’t get that opportunity in any other trade.”

From humble beginnings in 2005, Cooper and Westwood has grown rapidly to become one of the Gold Coast’s leading creative agencies with a substantial roster of local, national and international clients. According to General Manager Liam O’Doherty the agency’s success is built on a thriving team culture. “For us, culture is everything. We hire first on culture and aptitude, before technical talent”, O’Doherty enthuses. 

It’s that focus on putting people first, with a priority on hiring people with the right cultural fit that has seen the agency develop a substantial internship program to ensure the agency can continue to grow while investing in local talent. “Apart from investing back into our industry the program makes smart business sense. It’s a definite benefit for us having the chance to work with someone, see how they respond to challenges and then how they solve problems to provide a very clear picture of their capability”, says O’Doherty.

So, you’re fresh out of university and you land your first job. You have all the theory you need in your chosen profession, but not the experience. How do you gain an understanding about the way your new employer operates their business? What are their expectations of you in your new job? What’s the team culture like and will you be able to confidently apply yourself in the organisation?

From an employer’s perspective they face a similar dilemma. How can they quickly get their new employee up to speed on how the business runs? Will the graduate be familiar with their systems and processes? Does the new employee understand business etiquette and will they be able to successfully communicate their ideas within the team?

In short, you can have all the knowledge in the world, but there’s no substitute for experience. But how do you gain experience and the confidence to operate within a real world situation when you’ve just spent the last few years studying?

Business administration tends to be dominated by women, but that hasn’t stopped Jett Podesta from seizing his opportunity in the field. The Year 11 Merrimac State High School student is currently undertaking a traineeship with the Aurora Training Institute as part of his Certificate III in Business Administration.

Aurora’s General Manager of Operations for South East Queensland Kim Little illustrates the gender imbalance in business administration from experience. “Jett is just the second male trainee we’ve had in the 10 years we’ve been doing this. We have an office full of females, so the girls get excited when a male shows interest in working here. It’s nice to see young men like Jett apply for these positions.”

Australia’s largest luxury motor yacht builder Riviera, based on the Gold Coast, continues its commitment to fostering excellence by encouraging its apprentice graduates to participate in a new initiative aimed at enhancing their skills and career pathways.

Over a six-month term, graduates of the Riviera apprenticeship program team up with a mentor at Riviera’s Coomera production facility as part of Study Gold Coast’s Kickstart program.

"I didn’t think I could grow so much professionally in such a short period of time." Shreya Kulkarni is studying her Masters in Marketing at Griffith University. This is her remarkable account of her internship experience at HTG Solutions on the Gold Coast.

A tech company based in the heart of Surfers Paradise is winning international accolades for the way its changing agricultural practices across the globe. Social enterprise AgUnity has developed a platform that empowers poor farmers in developing countries by improving their agricultural practices so that they can become profitable.

By using blockchain in the backend of their platform AgUnity are able to guarantee security for farmers and in doing so tackle the issues of graft and corruption which plague farming in those countries.

The Venue Management Association moved to the Gold Coast from Brisbane five years ago and CEO Michael Brierley says they’ve never looked back. “A lot of the people we work with on the Gold Coast are very innovative and have a great sense of fun. It’s also such a beautiful place to work.”

Amy Kwan and China (pronounced Chee-na) Yamasaki are students from Griffith University and Southern Cross University respectively. Both are serving internships with Tyler International, a Gold Coast based study tour organisation. CEO Angela Tyler says her company is always happy to accept students who believe their internship experience will benefit their career aspirations.   

Larissa Rose, Director of Glowing Green Australia says: “We have a deeply ingrained philosophy that we have a role and a duty of care to build the leaders of the future. If we want to do the 101 of sustainability for our industry, then we need to ensure that we’re building the leaders of the future to sustain the sector.

For years Parkwood Village has been an important training ground for school-based trainees in hospitality. General Manager Cody Mathie says it’s more than just training young people for the organisation and the hospitality sector.   

Lemon Tree Marketing are a full service strategic agency that began in 2012 with Managing Director Natalie Carosi. The Burleigh Heads agency has grown rapidly since, now employing 10 staff. Timing is everything, nowhere more so than in business as Natalie explains:

GANDEN Engineers and Project Managers are one of Australia’s leading water and wastewater consultancies. The Gold Coast based company assists their clients in design, procurement, commissioning and operation of water and wastewater assets.

Aquaduck is a well established Gold Coast tourism business that’s been operating since 1996. This year the company changed ownership with the new owners placing an emphasis on improving the quality of the Aquaduck experience.

HTG is a Gold Coast based company employing over 180 staff boasting a diversified portfolio of businesses across multiple sectors. While still very much a Gold Coast based company, HTG has a growing footprint globally.

Natura Pacific is a sustainability‐focused social enterprise that seeks to reintegrate communities with nature and promote a sustainable business model that can be used globally for social and environmental good.

Anonyome Labs is a tech company that specialises in data security by allowing people to take control of their private information. Their motto is ‘it’s not our work life, it’s our life’s work’.

Last year Chris Boyd read an article about bullying in a local high school and he knew he needed to do something about it.

The Frizelle Group was first established in 1985 and is one of the largest motor dealers in Queensland with over 830 staff across eight locations. The group runs a substantial apprentice program with around 40 of those apprentices employed each year.

We live and work in a global economy and while that can literally open up a world of opportunities the prospect does present its challenges.

Southport Sharks have shown a commitment to supporting and enhancing the student experience on the Gold Coast over a number of years.

For Gold Coast businessman Vincent Fletcher, investing in recent university graduates is a win-win for everyone at software company CartonCloud. The same goes for CartonCloud’s diverse workplace, where staff from all cultures and backgrounds feel welcome and part of the team.

When Melinda Rogers and Michael Jacobson created Very Media they wanted it to be more than just another communications company on the Gold Coast. One of the priorities was to give back to the industry they love.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary places a strong emphasis on the culture of its workplace. Every team member that you encounter, whether staff member or volunteer, not only greets you with a smile but genuinely seems to enjoy what they do and the environment in which they work.

Liam Howe is the Director of the local engineering, design and project management company, which on average has engaged the services of at least one intern every year since the company was founded in 2009.