Apprenticeships 

& Traineeships

Choosing an SBAT that complements your future plans

If you're thinking about doing a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship (SBAT) but also have university or career goals in mind, you might be wondering how to choose an SBAT that complements these future plans, rather than just adding random work experience to your resume. The good news is that with a bit of strategic thinking, you can choose training that genuinely aligns with your goals.

This doesn't mean you need to have your entire life mapped out at fifteen. You're allowed to change your mind, discover new interests, or take your career in unexpected directions - that's completely normal and absolutely fine. But if you have some general sense of the fields that interest you, choosing an SBAT that aligns with those interests can provide valuable experience, help you test whether you actually enjoy that type of work, and potentially give you an advantage when you're applying for university courses or graduate positions.

This article will walk you through different career pathways and the kinds of apprenticeships or traineeships that might complement them. Think of these as suggestions rather than rules - there's no single "correct" SBAT for any particular career, and the best choice depends on your specific interests, what's available in your area, and what opportunities you can actually secure.

Why bother being strategic?

You might be wondering whether it really matters what kind of SBAT you choose if you're planning to study at university anyway. After all, isn't work experience just work experience?

To some extent, that's true - any apprenticeship or traineeship will teach you valuable workplace skills like professionalism, time management, communication, and how to work as part of a team. These transferable skills are useful regardless of where your career ends up. However, choosing an SBAT that's at least loosely related to your intended direction can provide some additional benefits.

Firstly, it helps you test whether you actually enjoy the kind of work you're considering. It's one thing to think you want to be a teacher because you're good at explaining things to your friends. It's another thing to spend every week working with children and discovering whether you find that energising or exhausting. Better to learn this while you're still in school and can adjust your plans than to complete three years of a teaching degree before realising you don't actually enjoy working in educational settings.

Secondly, relevant work experience can genuinely strengthen your university applications and future job prospects. When you're applying for competitive courses or graduate positions, you'll be competing against people with similar academic results. Having substantial, relevant work experience can be the factor that makes you stand out. A business degree applicant who's worked in office administration for three years looks quite different to one who's only done casual retail work.

Finally, working in a field while studying it can deepen your understanding and make you a better student. You'll see how theoretical concepts apply in real workplaces, you'll understand why certain things matter, and you'll be able to connect your practical experience with your academic learning in ways that strengthen both.

Now let's take a look at some different industries and the pathways that can take you there.

Health and medical sciences

If you're interested in careers like medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or other allied health professions, there are several SBAT pathways worth considering.

Fitness and personal training

A Certificate III in Fitness is one of the most versatile qualifications for students interested in health sciences. You'll learn about human anatomy, exercise physiology, how bodies respond to physical activity, injury prevention, and how to work with diverse populations. This knowledge translates well to fields like physiotherapy, exercise physiology, sports science, and occupational therapy.

Working as a fitness trainer or gym instructor while studying also keeps you immersed in health and wellness environments, helps you develop strong communication skills (essential for any health profession), and gives you experience motivating and supporting people to achieve their goals.

Aged care and community services

Traineeships in aged care, disability support, or community services provide direct experience working with vulnerable populations and understanding how care is delivered in real settings. This is particularly valuable if you're considering nursing, social work, occupational therapy, or medicine.

You'll gain hands-on experience with personal care, understand how healthcare systems actually function, and develop the empathy and communication skills that are crucial for any health profession. Many students find this experience invaluable when they begin clinical placements during their university studies.

Health administration

Not all health careers involve direct patient care. If you're interested in health management, public health, or the administrative side of healthcare, an administration traineeship within a healthcare setting gives you insight into how hospitals, clinics, and health organisations operate.

Education and teaching

Future teachers have some excellent SBAT options that provide genuine classroom experience before you even begin your education degree.

Early childhood education and care

A Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care lets you work in childcare centres, kindergartens, or outside school hours care programmes. You'll gain practical experience managing groups of children, understanding how young people learn and develop, creating educational activities, and communicating with parents.

While this qualification focuses on early years, the skills you develop are relevant for teaching any age group. You'll learn classroom management, how to explain concepts clearly, how to engage different learners, and how to create safe, supportive learning environments.

School support or education support

Some schools and education providers offer traineeships for education support officers or teacher aides. These roles let you work directly in school environments, support students with diverse learning needs, and see teaching from an insider's perspective. This experience is invaluable for understanding what teaching actually involves beyond just delivering lessons.

Engineering and technology

Students considering engineering, computer science, or technology-related degrees have several complementary apprenticeship options.

Electrical apprenticeships

An electrical apprenticeship provides hands-on experience with circuits, electrical systems, and problem-solving that directly complements electrical engineering or renewable energy degrees. You'll develop practical skills that many engineering graduates lack, and you'll understand how theoretical engineering concepts apply in real-world installations and repairs.

Many students continue their electrical apprenticeship part-time while studying engineering, giving them both practical trade skills and theoretical knowledge. When you graduate, you'll be one of the few engineers who can both design electrical systems and actually install them.

Engineering trades

Apprenticeships in mechanical fitting, fabrication, or manufacturing provide excellent foundations for mechanical, manufacturing, or mechatronics engineering degrees. You'll learn to read technical drawings, use precision tools, understand materials and their properties, and solve practical engineering problems.

Information technology

Traineeships in IT support, network administration, or cybersecurity complement computer science, software engineering, or IT degrees. You'll gain experience with real systems and problems, develop troubleshooting skills, and understand how technology is actually used in business environments.

Business, commerce, and law

If you're heading towards business, commerce, economics, accounting, or even law, business-related traineeships provide valuable workplace experience.

Business administration

A Certificate III in Business teaches you how offices and organisations actually operate. You'll learn about business communications, record keeping, customer service, and general administrative processes. This foundational understanding of how businesses function is valuable regardless of which aspect of business you eventually specialise in.

Working in administration while studying business or commerce also exposes you to different types of organisations and industries, helping you work out which sectors interest you most.

Accounting and bookkeeping

For students specifically interested in accounting, finance, or economics, traineeships in accounting or bookkeeping provide practical experience with financial systems, compliance requirements, and how businesses manage their money. You'll understand financial statements from a practical perspective before you study the theory at university.

Retail management

Retail traineeships teach valuable skills in customer service, sales, stock management, and team supervision. These skills translate well to any customer-facing business role and help you understand consumer behaviour from direct experience. For future marketing, management, or business students, this practical understanding of how businesses interact with customers is incredibly valuable.

Creative industries

Students interested in design, media, communications, or creative fields can benefit from relevant traineeships that build practical skills alongside creative development.

Digital media and marketing

Traineeships in marketing, social media management, or digital content creation complement degrees in communications, marketing, journalism, or media. You'll learn practical skills in content creation, campaign management, and digital platforms while also understanding how creative work functions within business contexts.

Design and visual arts

Some areas offer traineeships in graphic design, web design, or visual arts. These provide practical experience with design software, client communication, and commercial design work that complements university studies in design, visual arts, or creative industries.

Science and environment

Science pathway SBATs can be trickier to find, but there are some options worth considering.

Laboratory operations

Some areas offer traineeships in laboratory support or operations, particularly through TAFE, universities, or science-based industries. This experience is valuable for students considering chemistry, biology, environmental science, or other laboratory-based sciences.

Conservation and land management

Traineeships or apprenticeships in conservation, horticulture, or environmental management complement environmental science, ecology, or sustainability studies. You'll gain practical fieldwork experience and understand how environmental work actually happens outside of textbooks.

Agriculture and animal care

For students interested in veterinary science, agriculture, animal science, or related fields, traineeships in agriculture, animal care, or veterinary nursing provide invaluable hands-on experience working with animals and understanding agricultural systems.

Hospitality and tourism

If you're considering hospitality management, tourism, event management, or related fields, working in the industry while studying gives you practical experience that classroom learning simply can't replicate.

Commercial cookery

An apprenticeship in commercial cookery provides professional kitchen experience and qualifications that can lead to careers in hospitality management, food science, nutrition, or running your own business. The skills you develop in time management, working under pressure, and quality control are valuable far beyond professional cooking.

Hospitality and events

Traineeships in hospitality or events teach customer service, event coordination, and management skills that complement hospitality or event management degrees. You'll understand how venues actually operate and what makes service experiences successful or unsuccessful.

What if you're unsure or change your mind?

Here's the thing: you don't need to have everything figured out, and choosing an SBAT that doesn't perfectly align with where you eventually end up is absolutely fine. Many successful people have qualifications and work experience in fields completely unrelated to where their careers ultimately took them.

If you're genuinely unsure about your future direction, choosing a general traineeship like business administration, retail, or hospitality isn't a wasted opportunity. These qualifications teach transferable skills that are useful in almost any career, and they provide work experience that demonstrates reliability and professionalism to future employers.

Similarly, if you start an SBAT thinking you want to pursue one career path, then discover during university that you're more interested in something else, your apprenticeship or traineeship isn't a mistake. You've gained a qualification, work experience, professional references, and importantly, you've learned something valuable about what you do and don't enjoy. That's worth a lot, even if you don't end up working in that field long-term.

Some students also find that their SBAT becomes a useful backup plan or source of income even if it's not their primary career. A teacher who's also a qualified fitness trainer has options if teaching doesn't work out. An engineer who completed an electrical apprenticeship can always fall back on electrical work if engineering positions are scarce. Having multiple skills and qualifications isn't a disadvantage - it's insurance.

How to research your options

Once you have a general sense of the field you're interested in, start researching what's available in your area. Not all traineeships and apprenticeships are offered everywhere, and availability varies significantly depending on where you live.

Start by talking to your school's VET coordinator or careers adviser. They'll know what SBAT opportunities exist locally and might have connections with employers who regularly take on school-based trainees or apprentices. They can also help you understand which qualifications are realistic given your location and circumstances.

Look at job boards specifically for apprenticeships and traineeships like Apprenticeship Central or SEEK to see what kinds of positions are regularly advertised in your area. This gives you a sense of which industries actively employ school-based workers and what qualifications they're offering.

Research the universities and courses you're interested in to see whether they value particular types of work experience. Some course websites explicitly mention that relevant industry experience is considered during admissions, or that certain background knowledge is helpful for success in the programme. This can guide your SBAT choices.

Talk to people actually working in the fields you're interested in. Ask them how they got started, whether an apprenticeship or traineeship would be useful preparation, and what skills or experience they wish they'd gained earlier in their careers. These conversations often reveal insights you won't find through research alone.

Remember that you can only choose from the opportunities you can access. If your dream SBAT doesn't exist in your area or you can't find an employer willing to take you on, that's not a reflection on you or your plans. Choose the best available option and make the most of it - you can always gain more specific experience later through university placements, part-time work, or your first graduate role.

Making your choice

Choosing a complementary SBAT is about finding a balance between strategic planning and practical reality. Ideally, you'll find something that aligns reasonably well with your intended direction, teaches valuable skills, and provides work experience that will serve you well regardless of exactly where your career ends up.

Don't stress too much about finding the "perfect" match. There isn't one single correct SBAT for any career pathway, and most successful people's career journeys involve unexpected turns, changed plans, and experience in multiple fields. Your SBAT is just one piece of your overall development, not the sole determinant of your future.

Focus on finding something that genuinely interests you, teaches skills you'll find useful, and provides an opportunity to learn and grow. If it also happens to complement your university plans, that's excellent. If it doesn't align perfectly but you're learning valuable lessons and gaining good work experience, that's also excellent. The key is making a thoughtful choice based on your current interests and circumstances, while staying open to where that experience might lead you.

Want to learn more?

If you still need some more help deciding if an SBAT is right for you, you might like to check out the other blogs and resources on our website here.