How a Traineeship Gave Rhayne a Career Path in the Arts
ArtsReady NSW graduate, Rhayne Fountain, believes her traineeship gave her the career direction she was desperately looking for.
“I was confused after high school because there was all this pressure about choosing your career and I still didn’t know what I wanted to do yet for sure. I didn’t want to rush into a career path that I wasn’t certain of,” said Rhayne.
“Going straight to university was so widely accepted and for someone like myself who wasn’t ready to jump into tertiary study, I felt as though I was lost. But suddenly everything changed when I came across traineeships,” she added
Rhayne took on a traineeship in 2018 with the City of Sydney as their Major Events and Festivals trainee while studying a Certificate III in Business.
“It was like the perfect opportunity for me. I was able to work in the arts and creative industry which I love and work in events which I didn’t know much about but sounded really fun. My prayers had been answered,” exclaimed Rhayne.
After feeling the pressure after high school, Rhayne’s career path started to slowly unfold. She found that the traineeship gave her some direction as to what her future might look like.
“In my traineeship I helped manage the 2018 Choirs in the City program, experienced the Fireworks display from the Sydney New Years Eve Lord Mayor’s Picnic; and worked on the Lunar Lantern Exhibition at Circular Quay.”
“The City of Sydney Council is an amazing place to work and I gained so much knowledge, experience and workplace relationships after working there.”
I had the opportunity to work with incredible people across many departments I feel like the whole experience was really fulfilling.”
Rhayne realised this is where she wanted to be, working in events and festivals. This was her calling and thanks to her traineeship she found it.
“It was like a revelation, from being so lost at the start of my traineeship to then knowing exactly what I wanted to do at the end of it and that was really inspiring.”
Another win for Rhyane was being recently nominated for the Trainee of the Year Award which will be announced at the 2019 NSW Training Awards in September this year. This honourable award recognises the outstanding achievement that an individual has undertaken in their VET course.
“I am so grateful to be nominated for this award. It means a great deal to me to be recognised for my accomplishments as an ArtsReady trainee.
This has motivated me more than ever to spread the word about traineeships and VET.”
Rhayne completed her traineeship at the recent NSW graduation ceremony and is now focusing on developing her skills and experience on more large-scale events and festivals in the industry.
“My ArtsReady traineeship and VET qualification provided me with a light and if any other high school leavers are feeling the same way I did then I highly recommend to look into traineeships.
“Always remember, believe in what is unique about you.”
Date: 20th of May 2019
Image: Rhayne (left) with her colleagues at an event
Author: Marissa Pagliarello