“You know, like nunchaku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills… girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.”
These wise words from Napoleon Dynamite are the theme of the promoted video on the new Australian website skillsone.com.au. If Napoleon is right, it looks like I’m going to be single for a long time. Luckily for Australians, the Australian government has funded a program to increase interest in trade skills within the country. The funds back the Institute for Trade Skills Excellence. The first aim of the Institute is to “improve the profile and status of trades.” One of the ways they plan on achieving that goal is through the new video-based skillsone.com.au site.
The site is actually pretty cool. The videos are broken down into eight different categories of trades such as Building and Construction, Automotive, and Manufacturing. Dozens of videos exist for each category, and most of the videos seem to be profiles of people in a specific trade. For example, the first video on the Electrical category is called, “Training Future MacGyvers.” They interview electricians on the job and observe what they do.
The videos give a great sense of what the day-to-day practice of each trade is actually like. Obviously there is a lot of variation of types of jobs within each trade, and the site reflects that by profiling hundreds of different people.
If you’re curious about different trades, the videos are worth checking out. If you live in Australia, you may even find a future employer, as the site also incorporates “virtual tours” of different employers in Australia.
One great thing about the site is that because its government funded, there are no annoying ads. And the best part for non-Australia residents: the iste was paid with somebody else’s tax dollars!
So give it shot and see why the site recently won a Webby Award for Associations. You may find the tools to develop some “great skills.”
This is a guest post by Steven Krager.
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