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Name: Billy Fox, 22
Occupation: Chef, Wollongong
VET qualification: Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
You started your apprenticeship aged 16. What was the experience like for you? “So my apprenticeship was three years – I did two years at TAFE and then a year full-time at work. And for me it was fantastic. When I finished my apprenticeship, I was 18. So all my friends were finishing school and in their first year at university and I was already making a wage.”
What was one of the most important skills you gained through VET? “Keeping a level head in the kitchen, especially during service, and utilising critical thinking is absolutely essential. Service can get quite manic at times. It's hard yakka and managing it, a situation like that, it requires a lot of critical thinking.”
You work as a chef in your local area, but you’ve also got a few other irons in the fire. What doors to opportunity has VET opened for you? “I’m the Captain of the Australian Culinary Youth Team, we are getting ready for the Culinary Olympics in Germany next year. I’m also the Young Chef Ambassador for Australia and the Pacific Rim with WorldChefs. This industry's a great tool to travel. It's allowed me to travel—I got off a plane from Italy seven days ago and in three days’ time I get on another plane to go to Hong Kong.”
What do you love most about working as a chef? “Kitchen service, especially service, can get quite manic at times, but that's something I love about the industry and it's a lot of fun and it's playful, although it can be very serious and it is very serious. It's a cool workplace to get to come into every day.”
According to Federal Government research, around 16,800 new chef positions will be advertised over the next five years – making it one of Australia’s fastest-growing occupations. On average, chefs earn around $1050 a week.
The best way to become a qualified chef is to undertake a fee-free apprenticeship through VET. Apprenticeships combine on-the-job training with classroom study to give you the skills and experience employers are looking for. Trade apprenticeships also have excellent employment outcomes, with 91.2% of graduates employed full-time six months after graduation.
Get your startThe following VET qualifications are all available as fee-free apprenticeships: