Get real work opportunities with Qantas
For Kate Barrington the decision to accept a place in the Qantas graduate program was easy.
“No one else seemed as friendly and I felt confident they were going to invest time in me,” said. Ms Barrington a 23-year-old economics and social science graduate from the University of Sydney.
Ms Barrington found out about the Qantas graduate program after completing a week of work experience with the company. She also had friends who had completed the two-year course.
“Qantas is a huge organisation and not many people realise that. It has an operational and a commercial side and I am keen to gain experience across both these areas,” she said.
The Qantas graduate program consists of four rotations of six months each. A human resources graduate, Ms Barrington is in the third rotation of the two-year program.
“I’m currently working in Flight Operations where we look after the HR concerns and strategy regarding pilot development,” she said.
Mentoring, networking and on-the-job training have been the real highlights of the program for Ms Barrington so far.
“We are asked to choose a buddy or a mentor from within the organisation almost as soon as we start. We are also constantly encouraged to ask questions and you don’t necessarily need to have just one person to talk with,” she said.
“My mentor is based in Adelaide and she has 10 years experience in the company. It’s great to know that I can call her and ask questions about a whole range of things,” she said.
Qantas graduates are encouraged to “increase their knowledge about the business of Qantas” .
“We are also given the opportunity to meet a lot of members of staff, which also helps us to get a better understanding of the company,” she said.
Qantas has opened its next intake for graduates in HR, Finance, IT and Corporate streams
Qantas looks for “well-rounded graduates” with a “minimum credit-average” . Short listed applicants undergo an “abilities assessment” , which consists of competency based testing, a panel interview and group exercises.
