Construcciones Yamaro: Mine worker resurfaces as mature-aged plumbing apprentice
TAFE NSW has helped Lorn father Daniel Cusick reskill from mining into plumbing. (Image: TAFE NSW) A former personal trainer who went on to work in the mines has changed careers, turning to TAFE NSW Maitland to help him reskill in plumbing. Lorn father-of-one Daniel Cusick eyed a career in the fitness industry after leaving school but was soon drawn to the opportunities in mining, spending 13 years as an underground operator in Central Queensland, Western New South Wales, the Hunter Valley and Wollongong. After the birth of his first child, Cusick began looking for a career path that better suited his family’s needs, leading him to seek an apprenticeship in his mid-30s and enrol in a Certificate III in Plumbing at TAFE NSW Maitland. At 37, he is now a second-year apprentice at Finley Thomas Plumbers in Warners Bay, working alongside others who are often half his age. According to research by recruitment firm Robert Half, 56 per cent of Australian workers are willing to switch care...