MRHS Griffith students get to grips with trades

Students are now looking to their futures, and Griffith's trades leapt at the chance to chat about their work, answer questions and even maybe find some potential apprentices.

Representatives from Essential Energy, Collier and Miller, Australian Refrigeration Services and builder Mark Tyndall all visited the school's library for a sit-down with small groups of students, rotating between all so that each student would get to know some of their options.

MRHS Griffith's careers advisor Melina Ragusa said that the smaller groups and interactivity kept up engagement, and that was clear seeing students asking questions and keenly listening - particularly when salaries were brought up.

Student Ashvin Sharma said he was excited to learn about new options, and found electrical work particularly appealing.

"It was a really good experience, we learnt about a lot of new stuff. It was good to see how it all works, learn how technical you have to be on a job site," he said.

Shane Scott from Essential Energy was similarly pleased with the response from students - and noted one keen young woman who was interested in pursuing a career as an electrician.

"It worked well. It was a bit slow to start with, but they got really engaged with it," he said.

"A young girl here was interested in being an electrician, so we were able to give her some guidance on what to look for and where to go."

Katie Friedlieb from Training Services NSW said that if the responses to the speed networking event were positive, they would be keen to roll out similar sessions at schools across the state.

"It's an area of workforce development that the government is looking into, and students might not have their own contacts in trades," she said.