To Boldly Go Where Few Young Men Have Gone Before

Study 

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.”

Standout Trainee

Jett’s energy and enthusiasm have impressed the team at Aurora. “We’ve been lucky with many of our trainees over the years, employing many of them at the completion of their traineeship”, says Kim, however “Jett’s willingness to take the initiative has made him an absolute standout”.

Jett began his traineeship performing simple tasks like cleaning up files and soon progressed to the front desk answering phones and dealing with enquiries. He then showed an interest in sales and before long was under the tutelage of Sales Manager Ian Gowland.   

“It’s been an awesome experience, I’ve learnt so much - data entry, customer service, sales, all kinds of things I knew nothing about until I came here”, says Jett. “What surprised me most was how much I was treated like just another member of the team from day one. There was a lot of respect for what I brought to the table from all of the Aurora team. At the same time, I learn something new here every day.”

Supervision and Support

To meet the requirements of his Certificate 3 in Business Administration Jett sits down with his trainer to go through the theory elements of the certification, although it’s the practical aspects of the job that provide the majority of his traineeship experience. “Jett is supported and supervised through every aspect of what he does here”, explains Kim. “He also gets paid like a normal employee while he’s here.”

Kim says that as a potential employer it’s important to get a sense of who the trainee is and whether they’ll be a good fit for their organisation. “Training young people to gain a broader perspective of our industry is what it’s all about. As a team we all get to help develop the skills of our trainees and we really enjoy it. It’s important for us to keep up their skills – its our core business.”

According to Jett, the best part of the job is answering the phones. “Everyone is different and I just love talking to people. I like the challenge of dealing with people and trying to resolve their issues. If the Aurora Training Institute offered me a job when I finish school I’d definitely want to work here. The business world appeals to me and I find it very interesting.”