Maya Boeren has flown planes, worked in the mines, sat in offices and helped sick animals in her career but has finally found her calling as an electrotechnology apprentice.
Ensuring operational centres for Transgrid are alerted to any faults forms part of a new challenge in life the 35-year-old is meeting head on.
She is part of 19 apprentices in Transgrid’s 2023 intake and started her role as a communications technician in Newcastle this year.
Ms Boeren is one of many around Australia benefiting from what's on offer at national skills week, which begins on Monday.
She is a beneficiary of the government's new energy apprentice support payment that encourages apprentices to choose clean energy careers, improve retention rates and deliver more completions by providing direct financial support to those seeking a change in career.
"I wanted to do a trade in something more practical and elements of electricity and renewables really spoke to me," Ms Boeren told AAP.
After working across different industries she said the notion of starting fresh and with a clean slate was daunting.
But that didn't hinder the 35-year-old's determination to get stuck in.
"I think back to when I started any of my jobs, you have to remember that it's okay to not know things and you are there to learn that and it will take a bit of time," she said.
"The variety has been really good in terms of who you work with, but also what you're working on. Every day is different.
"I'd definitely say that you can start one job, and you may not continue it, but you'll take aspects of that or things you really enjoy from it into your next job.
"You are continuously learning and applying what you like and what you're looking for in workplaces."
Ahead of skills week, Ron Maxwell from employment, training and apprenticeship group VERTO said Vocational Education and Training (VET) is a great opportunity to upskill and find the right career for Australians of all ages.
"Today, the VET sector fuels careers in Australia’s largest and fastest-growing industries, and studies have shown that nine out of ten of the biggest jobs of the future will require a VET qualification,” he said.
"I encourage anyone at school or completing their HSC, as well as their parents and/or carers, to use national skills week as an opportunity to consider how VET can help young people future-proof their skills or build an exciting new career.”
