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Cadetship to Career

Life–changing opportunities for real work experience

Life–changing opportunities for real work experience

Cadetship to Career is a youth employment initiative jointly developed by The Smith Family and the Business Council of Australia.

It links tertiary students supported by The Smith Family with employers for paid, flexible, multi–year cadetship opportunities.

Cadetship to Career is available to any employer with an interest in supporting The Smith Family’s tertiary students with paid work experience, including Business Council of Australia member companies or otherwise.

Since its launch in 2017, 50 companies have provided more than 195 cadetship opportunities across Australia to support cadets' transition from study to employment.

In 2024 cadetships will be offered to first, second and third year students who are in receipt of The Smith Family's tertiary scholarship and are undertaking tertiary studies (university or vocational).

Meet one of our cadets Zahra, who is putting her Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering studies into practice with a cadetship at Cochlear.
Zahra's story

Employers and Cadets

Employers provide the cadets with:

  • eight weeks full–time paid employment per year for the duration of their scholarship to develop valuable practical experience and key skills for future employment.  Cadetships typically run for 2 years.
  • training in skills that are increasingly valued by employers and vital to succeed in the 21st century workforce,
  • the opportunity to explore future career options, gain industry exposure and build valuable networks,
  • more well–rounded experience that cadets can highlight on their résumé and
  • the prospect of being offered a graduate role when cadets complete their studies.

Cadets also receive:

  • continued support of a tertiary scholarship to assist with education related expenses,
  • participation in workshops to develop key work readiness and 21st century skills, and
  • ongoing wraparound support from The Smith Family’s Learning for Life Tertiary Coordinators.
photo of liz, recipient of The Smith Family tertiary scholarship
Liz, recipient of The Smith Family's tertiary scholarship.

The opportunity

For cadets, this is a life–changing opportunity to gain practical and relevant experience working with a major company.

photo of timmy, a cadet in the cadetship to career wok experience program
Timmy, a participant of Cadetship to Career.

For cadets, this is a life–changing opportunity to gain practical and relevant experience working with a major company.

Ultimately a cadetship increases the chance of landing a great job at the end of their studies.

Employers can play a positive and practical role in supporting young people to overcome the challenges they face when they transition into the labour market. It is a far–reaching experience that will change the lives of young people.

Employers can also attract, recruit and retain diverse talent with The Smith Family’s assistance, building a pipeline of future employees for graduate positions or entry–level roles.

Organisations that have hosted cadets include: Accenture, AECOM, ANZ, Aptella, Arup, Australian Stock Exchange, Australian Unity, Australia Post, BASF Australia Ltd, BCG, BOQ, BP, Cochlear, Compass Group, Dominos, Downer EDI, Ecotech, Engie, Gartner, Hanson, Hatch, Jemena, Kmart, Macquarie Group, McKinsey, Medibank, Microsoft, MinterEllison, Officeworks, Pearson, Programmed, Qantas, Region Group, SAP, Telstra, Wesfarmers and WSP.

TIMELINE FOR 2024 / 25 CADETSHIPS
July Tertiary students complete Job Read-e modules and submit an expression of interest for Cadetship to Career
August Applications are assessed and pre-screening interviews conducted by The Smith Family.
Sep/Oct Shortlisted applicants interview with employers.
October     Preferences are submitted and The Smith Family finalises Cadetship matches.
Nov onwards  Paid summer placement to the equivalent of eight weeks commences.

I'm interested. How do I find out more?

For first, second and third year tertiary scholarship students: keep an eye on your emails and text messages or contact your Tertiary Coordinator for further information.

Employers: please email ctp@thesmithfamily.com.au and a Cadetship to Career team member from The Smith Family will get in touch.

Two students doing work experience at a mechanic

Fill in the form below and someone from the project team will be in touch shortly. We look forward to hearing from you. Mandatory fields are marked with *

FAQs

Students must be on The Smith Family (TSF) Tertiary Scholarship Scheme to apply.

Applications are competitive and involve two rounds. After completing Job Read-e, students submit an expression of interest along with a written application. Select students will then be offered an interview with The Smith Family staff.  Successful students are invited to participate in the program and subsequently interview with participating employers.

Yes. Cadets work with the same company each year until the end of their qualification.

That said, in the event of a company pulling out of the program, we would rematch (if possible) with a different company the following year.

Students will be matched to an employer based on their skills, interests, experience and suitability. After interviews, cadets and employers are invited to express a preference on which cadets or employer is their preferred option. The Smith Family make the final decision.

Since its pilot year in 2017, over 50 employers have provided Cadetship opportunities to tertiary students.

To date, these include Smith Family corporate partners: AECOM, ANZ, Aptella, Arup, BASF Australia Ltd, Dominos, Engie, EY, Officeworks, Hatch, TJX Australia, Nine Entertainment Co. Other companies that have participated include: Accenture, Australian Stock Exchange, Australian Unity, Australia Post, BCG, BOQ, BP, Cochlear, Compass Group, Downer EDI, Ecotech, Gartner, Hanson, Jemena, Kmart, Macquarie Group, McKinsey, Medibank, Microsoft, MinterEllison, Programmed, Qantas, Suncorp, Telstra, Wesfarmers, Wotton + Kearney and WSP.