The Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032, and its underpinning research identifies demand for a VET-qualified workforce in skilled trades, traditional industry and utilities to support economic growth ambitions, deliver housing and infrastructure and to replace high expected rates of retirement in these sectors over coming years. The Strategy also highlights identified workforce pressures in the education sector to address the shortfall in Queensland’s future supply of tradespeople.

The Queensland Government’s Trade to Teach (T2T) Internship Program will boost the supply of Technologies teachers by providing 60 people across two cohorts with an existing trade qualification financial support while they study an undergraduate secondary teaching qualification specialising in Technologies.

T2T attracts tradespeople into teaching by offering scholarships, competitive salaries and benefits, innovative study arrangements, comprehensive mentoring, support from industry and close collaboration with universities. This program provides early classroom immersion through paid school-based internship opportunities and a guaranteed permanent teaching position in a Queensland state school on graduation.

We will provide an overview of the program and share experiences of current participants, through a facilitated panel including teaching interns who commenced in 2024, their supervising teachers and mentors. We will invite the audience to engage with the T2T participant panel about the benefits and challenges of employment based pathways into teaching.