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(Chelsea) Working for this company, it’s not just a job, it is a career. I feel a sense pride in doing this apprenticeship.

(Kade) When I applied and was successful, I was over the moon, smile from ear-to-ear. You can set up your career within this company with different opportunities that are available to you, it's sort of mind blowing. The support I’ve received has been second to none, I'm sure Chelsea is the same. Your apprentice program leader, regional program leader, all of your trainers during your training blocks any time you've got a question everyone is willing to help.

(Chelsea) We're each on our own journey through our apprenticeship, everyone's apprenticeship is very different. It's not like the same structured path and it can vary according to like what area you live in, like we live in very different regions so there's all sorts of different sections and jobs that you can have according to where you are. I haven't had a single day where I'll be like, “I’ve got to go to work”. I generally enjoy going to work every day there's actually longevity in working here, it's sustainable.

(Kade) Yeah, doesn't feel like you're just going to a job, it's because you have that work-life balance. The business takes mental health very seriously, everyone can talk and be open about how they're feeling.

(Chelsea) There's a very encouraging environment, especially for women in a trade. You come into the depot and everyone's always like, “Hey, Chelsea, how you going?” and you can tell that everyone wants to be there.

(Kade) It's such a good time to be in the industry, we're going through such a period of change and that's only going to offer more opportunity for growth and for learning.

(Chelsea) There’s going to be more innovative projects leading towards that electric, greener life.

(Kade) I just want to keep learning, keep growing, sky's the limit. 2032 Brisbane Olympics, that’s going to be a pretty big one for us.

(Chelsea) I've encouraged so many people to apply for this apprenticeship.

(Kade) Don't be afraid to have a go, I have loved every moment of it.

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What I've found great about this organisation is knowing that I can step out on a limb and that I'll be supported. I joined the organisation as a graduate engineer 16 years ago, it’s always a new challenge to solve every single day.

My role focuses on managing all of the legal and policy aspects, as well as all of the engineering technical aspects.

What actually sparked the interest in electrical engineering field was power and generation and how all of that works. We connect solar farms, wind farms, factories, mines, hospitals, schools, houses, you name it.

Customers all have their own needs and their own drivers, so some of them are working out how we can enable that to keep the network secure, but also then to give them what they want to achieve. Solving that problem, those are the really exciting bits that I love doing every day.

A lot of my team have been with the organisation a long time, we’re all quite introverted, a little bit nerdy. One of our team members, was actually my lecturer at university, and now he works for us, so. The people who come tend to stay because they enjoy the work so much.

We're in the biggest change for the electricity network in the last 150 years. We have to bring everyone along on the energy transition. We've got over 40% of Queensland homes with solar on their roofs, that only happened because of the hard work of our people.

We could trudge and just block our ears and put our heads down and say we just do things the way we've always done them. It works, it's fine, but that's not energising Queensland for me. It’s taking that step forward and leading the world in transforming our network.

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Ten year old me wouldn't believe what I'm doing right now or what experiences I've had. I think he'd just say, oh cool man and then get back to skating or something.

As a graduate engineer, we get to work in a variety of different roles. My role focuses on a lot of problem solving, currently I'm on my way up to Cairns and I'll be working in the isolated network space, where I'll be trying to figure out how to best implement sustainable technology in communities and on the islands up north.

I’ve been in Brisbane the majority of my life and I think being able to explore different parts of Queensland is something that I think will benefit both my career and also make me into a better engineer.

My whole journey has been about finding a place where I can be able to help and be able to find ways to make things better.

You’re sort of hand in hand with the community, always interacting with them, always reassuring, always ensuring that their needs are going to be met, whether that's customer or industry based.

During the recent floods and storms that happened at the Gold Coast, I did some work for an Australian organisation that helps to assist in disasters and I told them I was like, “Hey, I work for Energy Queensland, is there anything that we can do better?” and they were like, no everything you did was perfect.

The power industry is worldwide, it's truly an international industry. The advice that I could give is to be curious and to enjoy the process of learning, because you'll never stop learning.

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There's so many opportunities within this business and so many pathways you can take, you'll surprise yourself. I was vet nursing, I wanted to change career paths and try something new.

It was very daunting at the start, coming in as the first female to the depot. It doesn't matter where you come from, what background you have, we just accept you for who you are, and that's the beauty about here.

Being in Ingham, we face a lot of challenges, whether it be natural disasters, weather, heat, humidity, so we plan around that and make sure we're providing a safe network for our customers to use and that we can supply power to them wherever they need, whenever they need it.

The feeling of you're making a change to our customers and communities is something special.

Even though we're a small depot, we all play a role in something bigger. Hard work gets you to where you need to be and what you have to do and achieve. You're always learning something new every day.

I'm very proud of what I've achieved here, I love my role. I see myself in this role for a long time. I don't want to go anywhere, it's such a great job.

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I come from a line of electricians and lines-people. My brother was a big inspiration for being a linesman, he was my hero growing up and I just wanted to be exactly like him. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, climbing power poles and towers. I used to climb trees all the time, Mum used to chase me out of the mango tree down the back.

I’ve been here seventeen, nearly eighteen, years. I assist in the construction of the overhead network and storm work, and rapid response work. When we have storm recovery work, emergency work, getting people's power back on and seeing the difference that it's made for them and their lives, it's really rewarding.

Over the Christmas period of 2023-2024, we saw the complete devastation on Mount Tamborine. We literally rebuilt Mount Tamborine, there was some twelve days and it was a monumental task, all workers, the office staff, everyone to make an impact for a community that was completely devastated, I've never seen anything like it.

We had people on the on the side of the road with a sign “You guys are heroes.” It's easy to lose sight of the big picture, when you step back it's really cool to see the impact that you make.

You come into work, you're in the outdoors, you’ve got the beats on in the truck, you’re turning power on for people, you're problem solving, you're rescuing animals, and you're doing it with your best mate. The guy that I cruise around in the truck with loves his R&B beats, he's just singing in the truck. Every day you’re having a laugh.

It's really flexible, I get to see my little fella and take him to golf in the mornings, he’s just turned one; climbing everything, so maybe he's a, maybe he's a future linesman in the waiting, we'll see.

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People have questions about First Nations, you know, what does this mean or what does that mean? It's educating the wider community and our colleagues. We're wanting people to understand and acknowledge, and then we can have the reconciliation and walk as one.

My role involves working across different communities and more so the isolated and remote areas of Far North Queensland. I was born in the Torres Strait, we lived on Horn Island until I was about seven, and then we moved down to the Tully, Innisfail area. It’s always been my passion working in community engagement.

I have worked in lots of areas like disabilities, domestic violence, mental health, a lot of the social services. It's been a journey but helps to complete the picture of working in community because know I've got a handle on all different areas of the social issues that people face. It's always been about how can we get better outcomes for communities.

The work that I'm doing now, I love that we're able to go out there and speak to people. We went across to Doomadgee a couple of months ago. We're out there trying to get a feel for what the community is really wanting to have, explaining what a solar farm means, what decarbonisation means. I was able to sit with them and have a conversation about what they saw were some of the key issues.

Cost of living is a really big worry. To address that in the Torres Strait, we've already got the energy rebate scheme, which is to get the four-star appliances into homes so that they're able to reduce some of those costs.

We are the face of Energy Queensland, it's very rewarding to be able to go out to community and speak to people and then look at what you have contributed to enhance the quality of life for that community or that person or that family.

The work that we're doing will make a better world for the next generation, for the kids and the grandkids.

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There's not many jobs where you can drive past things and show your kids that you built ten years ago and it's still out there. I have been here for 23 years, every day is a learning opportunity. I jump out of bed every day, to come in here because it is a fantastic place to work.

My role is exciting and challenging, the days will always start off early in the morning, and we’ll work through who's in today, who's on breaks, and what work that we need to deliver.

A big part of what we do in this organisation is coaching and mentoring. We were all apprentices once, we've all got that responsibility to share our knowledge to the younger generation.

We have some of the best safety procedures in the industry. When I come to work every day I know that I'm going to be safe, my team is going to be safe.

It's a fantastic place to build relationships and mates, I've got friends that I've known since I started my apprenticeship. It's just that camaraderie and that teamwork and that sense of achievement. Everyone works together for that common goal, keeping the lights on.

I live on a rural property, when I don't have power, that means that I don't have pumps, I don't have flushing toilets, I can't turn the tap on.

When we go out there in storms, the electricity's off, you hear that big cheer when the power comes back on. Our customers trust us and they now in times of need that our organisation is going to step up and get those lights back on as quickly as possible.

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It's a one of the largest, safest electric companies in the world. Where else would I want to work?

I’ve trained apprentices from the first years, through to their test and verify and upskill tradies. I love working with the apprentices, nurturing them, mentoring them, coaching them, and it's a proud moment when they do get their ticket at the end.

Working in with electricity, it's a thrill. From working out of a harness on a pole to working live, to line patrolling out of a helicopter, to abseiling down the transmission towers, to restoring the power back to the communities after disasters that knocked out the electricity network. It is an amazing job.

The opportunities this organisation gives you the correct training, the great understanding and knowledge that you need to conduct your job so that you are safe and be able to go home the same way that you came to work.

When everybody comes together they work as a team and bring different ideas to the table. Everybody belongs in this company.

If you’re seeking a job here, I’d be putting my name in the hat ten times over just to get a role here. I would have loved to get on here earlier.