Copyright theage
Sydney plumber Maric Wichman, 27, said he finds his job fulfilling, but would like the option of a shorter university degree to retrain because it could give him career options in the construction industry. “My body is not going to keep up until I’m 60 years old,” he said. When Wichman left school, he enrolled in a bachelor of security studies but quit after two weeks. He became a labourer on construction sites before eventually securing a plumbing apprenticeship and setting up his own business, Wichman Plumbing Co, on Sydney’s northern beaches. “Everyone gets pushed into university. Even the careers advisers at school promote uni and not the trades,” he said. That experience was mirrored in last year’s Universities Accord review which outlined the yawning chasm between vocational education providers and universities, with credit transfer dubbed inconsistent and a barrier to further study.
