CHANGING CAREER

When Mitch Tarlinton decided to change career, he turned to an online course run by TAFE NSW.

He studied an Advanced Diploma of Building Surveying and is working with Buildcert at Baulkham Hills. Moving into construction was a career leap of faith.

When he left school Mr Tarlinton completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) at university and worked in the mining and quarrying industries for two years.

“Starting with Buildcert four years ago was an exciting time to come on board as the company was rapidly growing,” he said.

Buildcert is an innovative building certification, planning and development consultancy company, which is one of the leading service providers in NSW.

“My initial role required me to learn new skills quickly, spending a large amount of time on-site carrying out inspections of construction works and advising architects, builders and home owners on building compliance,” said Mr Tarlinton.

Since then, he has progressed to an A3 accredited certifier and manager of the Buildcert South residential certification team.

“My main responsibilities as a certifier include assessing and issuing building approvals which comply with Development and Construction Certificates, carrying out Principal Certifying Authority (PCA) inspections of building works during construction and issuing Occupation Certificates,” he said.

To add to his growing certification portfolio, Mr Tarlinton’s role also includes client and people management, implementing business strategies, developing procedures and training new team members.

Juggling work, study and keeping a healthy home-life balance has been an exciting journey in its own right for Mr Tarlinton.

“The TAFE Digital course appealed to me most as it satisfies the education requirements right up to an A2 Accredited Certifier level and allowed me to study at my own pace while working full-time,” he said. “Although I needed to set aside occasional weekends for research and assignments, studying online was of huge benefit to me because I could apply my learnings at work as an A4 certifier, while passing well-rounded knowledge onto our clients.”

The Australian Government’s Job Outlook predicts continued high demand for qualified surveying technicians, with an estimated 22,000 job openings over the next five years, growing from 65,700 to 66,800 job openings by 2023. That is about 4,400 a year.

Visit www.tafensw.edu.au/digital to explore hundreds of online courses available for enrolment in 2020.