Career Pathways
Council offers a variety of entry-level opportunities for those starting their career, those looking to retrain in something new, as well as those needing practical work experience to support their studies or school pathway.
Opportunities include:
- Apprenticeships and Traineeships
- Graduate Program
- Volunteering with Council
- Work Experience (school based)
- Work Integrated Learning (university based)
Visit Current Vacancies to see the current opportunities available.
Our Career Pathways
Apprenticeships & Traineeships
Council’s apprenticeship and traineeship programs provide an exceptional opportunity for individuals to establish a strong foundation for their chosen career. These programs combine paid, practical work experience with structured, nationally accredited training, ensuring participants gain both the theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills required for success.
By engaging in real-world projects and learning from experienced qualified professionals, apprentices and trainees develop competencies that are highly valued across the industry. Upon successful completion, participants receive a nationally recognised qualification, along with real world experience, positioning them for future career growth and advancement. Council is proud to invest in these programs as part of our commitment to fostering a skill growth in the region and promoting lifelong learning.
Role requirements and prerequisites will be included in the advertisements and the position descriptions for each role. If you would like to learn more about each role, you can reach out to Council's Learning and Development Team.
Apprentice and Trainee roles are advertised in the latter part of each year, with the intake commencing in the following year (February). Each year, the number of opportunities vary across the diverse sections of Council.
Apprenticeship areas may include:
- Auto Electrical
- Auto Parts Interpreter
- Boilermaker
- Diesel Fitting
- Electrical & Instrumentation
- Fitter & Turner
- Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanic
- Outdoor Power Equipment Technology (small engines)
- Parks & Gardens
Traineeship areas may include:
- Animal Care Services
- Civil Construction
- Customer Experience
- IT Support
- Library and Information Services
- Learning and Development
- People and Culture
- Procurement
- Veterinary Services.
Graduate Program
As a Graduate you will contribute to diverse and challenging work across your area of expertise, using your University learnt knowledge in real, on the job activities. You will deliver both project and business as usual services to work towards improving community and business outcomes. Training and development opportunities will be provided whilst you are coached and mentored by industry professionals. You will be exposed to a leading safety culture which reshapes how we deliver services to maximise value whilst role modelling the performance standards, values and behaviours that are integral to Council.
Council's Graduate Program is 2 years in length and disciplines/qualifications may include:
- Bachelor of Accounting
- Bachelor of Business
- Bachelor of Business Administration
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Engineering (Civil, Mechanical)
- Bachelor of Environmental Health
- Bachelor of Environmental Science
- Bachelor of Information Technology
- Bachelor of Law
- Bachelor of Natural Resource Management
- Bachelor of Occupational Health & Safety
- Bachelor of Spatial Science.
Volunteers
You may be interested in volunteering at Council in the many areas that we seek volunteer interest in, such as:
- Galleries
- Animal Care & Adoption
- Libraries.
Council is committed to supporting individual members of the public and community groups who choose to volunteer their time to enhance the provision of services to the community.
To find out what volunteer opportunities are available, or to submit your interest in becoming a Volunteer at Council, contact our People & Culture team on:
Work Experience and Work Integrated Learning
Townsville City Council’s work experience program is designed to provide participants with an insight into how local government operates and to provide them with knowledge and practical experience in the field or industry of interest.
Council also offers longer length placements for those at University or needing to complete WIL placement for their degree.
All work experience opportunities that we host are of an unpaid, voluntary nature. Participants must be registered with a recognised school or tertiary institution agency that covers them for personal insurance and public liability. If a person wishes to complete work experience, and is not registered with an above-mentioned organisation, this can be treated as Volunteer Work.
Council will endeavour to provide work experience whenever possible, however this is not always possible due to the availability of resources across teams, disaster season and workplace health and safety requirements.
Work Experience / WIL Fields Council can offer include:
- Accounting
- Animal Care and Adoption Centre
- Auto Electrical
- Boilermaker
- Business
- Diesel Fitting
- Electrical
- Engineering (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, IT/Systems)
- Environmental Health
- Events
- Fitting and Turning
- Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanics
- Information Technology Services
- Laboratory Services / Science
- Legal Services
- Library Services (including Social Work)
- Marketing
- People and Culture
- Planning and Development
- Sustainability and Environmental Services
- Veterinary Services
Depending on section availability and requirements, some areas are able to facilitate larger Work Experience Placements, meaning that multiple students are able to attend at the one time or over a reoccurring period. For more information on Council supporting bulk student placements, please reach out to Learning and Development on the contact details below.
Eligibility
To be eligible to undertake work experience or WIL Prep at Council, you must either be:
- a secondary school student over the age of 14
- a university student with a mandatory ‘Work Integrated Learning’ requirement
- a student undertaking a qualification with a registered training organisation.
Please note, pre-start checks are required for those who are over 18 years of age and undertaking work experience / WIL placement at Council. All work experience participants must also complete a Work Health and Safety online induction, along with the uploading of relevant licenses and qualifications to Councils Contractor Management System. Once placement is approved by Learning and Development, these checks and processes will be outlined.
How to Apply for Work Experience
Requests must be submitted at least 4 weeks prior to the commencement of placement through the below Apply Now button.
Questions and More Information
If you have any questions, please email the Learning and Development, Programs Development Team on:
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