From Classroom to Career: How ASBAs Set You Apart

Why starting your apprenticeship at school can put you years ahead in skills, experience, and career readiness.

5 minute read

Canberra Careers Xpo - 2025

Access Recognised Training recently had the privilege of exhibiting at the Careers Xpo in Canberra, where we met hundreds of students eager to share their goals and aspirations. We were there to promote careers in hospitality and the culinary arts, vibrant fields that offer excitement, variety, and countless opportunities for growth. Our conversations focused on helping students understand where to start their journey if they wished to pursue this exciting career path.

With every student we spoke to still in school, much of our attention was on Australian School-based Apprenticeships (ASBAs) in hospitality and cookery. We were pleasantly surprised by how many students were genuinely interested in this pathway, particularly in cookery. This gave us the perfect opportunity to talk about the benefits and virtues of pursuing an ASBA and why it can be such a powerful stepping stone to future success.

What is an ASBA?

An ASBA allows secondary students to begin an apprenticeship or traineeship while still at school. Students work part-time for an employer, complete nationally recognised vocational education and training (VET), and finish Year 12 with both their school certificate and significant progress towards a qualification.

In the ACT, students can complete a tertiary pathway and an ASBA at the same time. This means there is no need to choose between preparing for university and gaining valuable workplace skills. An ASBA is a flexible option that should be encouraged for all students who are ready to explore their future career.

Why ASBAs Give Students a Head Start

There is only one real way to become work ready, and that is to enter the workplace. ASBA students gain valuable experience that cannot be learned solely in a classroom. They see first-hand how industries operate, how to work with different personalities, and how to adapt to the demands of a real job.

Even less-than-perfect workplace experiences are useful. Challenges such as handling difficult customers, meeting deadlines, navigating team conflicts or constructive criticism all build resilience and adaptability. Learning how to recover from setbacks is a vital skill for any career, and ASBA students often gain it well before their peers.

By the time an ASBA student leaves school and moves into a full-time apprenticeship, they may have already completed half or more of their qualification. In some industries, such as the trades, this means they could be fully qualified by the age of 19 or 20. That is years ahead of peers who are still at the starting line.

The Financial Advantage of an ASBA

One of the most overlooked benefits of an ASBA is the financial head start it provides. With an apprenticeship, you are paid to learn, something that does not happen in a traditional university pathway.

Apprentice wages are often criticised for being low, but there is a good reason for that. When an employer takes on an apprentice, they are accepting a major responsibility. In partnership with the training provider, they are investing time, money, and resources to train you from scratch and build your skills until you become a productive member of the team.

Your employer covers your tuition fees, with the government funding the rest. This means you are not out of pocket for your education costs. Compare that to your university peers, who often graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt. By the time you complete your full-time apprenticeship and receive your qualification, you could be as much as $150,000 ahead financially.

Some argue that apprentice wages make it difficult to move out of home — and that may be true at the beginning. However, if you start your apprenticeship at school, you will reach the stage of earning a fully qualified tradesperson’s wage much earlier. This gives you the financial independence to move out sooner if you choose to.

The Education Journey Continues

Completing an ASBA and moving into a full-time apprenticeship does not mean the end of education. In fact, many students become accustomed to balancing work with study, which opens doors to higher-level qualifications.

We have seen students begin with an ASBA in cookery, progress to a full-time apprenticeship, and then continue on to complete:

• Certificate IV in Kitchen Management

• Diploma of Hospitality Management

• Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management

From there, some have chosen to enter university, confident in their abilities and equipped with years of industry knowledge.

A Pathway to University Success

For some students, starting university straight after Year 12 is not the best option. However, after gaining several years of experience in the VET system, combining work with study, these students are often more disciplined, mature, and ready for the demands of higher education.

They enter university with:

• Strong time management skills

• Confidence in independent learning

• A clear sense of direction

• Three to four years of relevant vocational study behind them

This is why many former ASBA students not only cope with university but thrive in it.

Final Thoughts

An ASBA is not simply an alternative to university. It is a career accelerator that blends real-world experience with nationally recognised qualifications. It helps young people build resilience, develop industry skills, gain financial independence, and keep all future options open, whether that is skilled trades, business ownership, or higher education.

For students who want to be ahead in skills, maturity, financial position, and career readiness, starting an ASBA while still at school is one of the smartest decisions they can make.