WHEN Aimee Chick left school in 2002 to pursue a mechanical apprenticeship she had one thing in mind - focusing on what she enjoys.
The former Singleton High School student left school just before her HSC exams and while she couldn't retain classroom education, she followed her path of problem-solving.
"I knew I loved working out how things work and I knew if I followed a path that collected competencies in this I'd eventually be able to build a career that I love," she said.
The now 39-year-old said leaving school early had led her to "a very successful career" from the workshop floor to the corporate door with BHP.
"I have gone from servicing trucks and cranes to managing maintenance across Australia, working remotely in the Pilbara for Corporate BHP," she said.
"I like to think I've gone from balancing fuel in the car and food in the fridge to balancing billion dollar budgets and complex AI model reports."
Ms Chick is a beam of hope for others entering the workforce early, with almost half of Hunter students not completing year 12 last year.
It seems completing the higher education certificate could be an old-fashioned way of looking at career progression.
Instead young people are pursuing trainee and apprenticeships, with 742 students aged under 18 in Newcastle alone last year, taking an early leap into the workforce.
In 2021, 729 students turned to VET studies and 700 in 2022. For Lake Macquarie students 815 left for work, compared to 740 in 2021 and 799 in 2022.
Over at Port Stephens 273 young people entered the trade last year - that's 39 more students who left school than in 2022.
Numbers climbed across the Hunter with 392 students in Maitland and 150 in Singleton choosing to leave school last year and pursue a trade.
Down on the Central Coast drop-outs jumped from 979 in 2021 to 1,065 in 2023.
Sean McKellar left school at the end of year 11 in 2012, and eventually went on to find an apprenticeship as a heavy vehicle mechanic with a coach company while attending Kurri Kurri TAFE.
But the business struggled financially and he was let go from the job.
"After working a few smaller jobs, I landed on an apprenticeship with HVTC (Hunter Valley Training Company), hosted at Centennial Myuna, in 2019 and haven't looked back," he said.
"I have completed a Cert 3 and Cert 4 at Tighes Hill Tafe, and I am looking forward to studying a diploma in mechanical engineering."
Mr McKellar said while the transition from leaving school earlier than his friends was difficult, he overcame it.
"All my friends finished their HSC and went to university. It was a bit of a struggle to fit in. I know some people who went to university and they're not using their degree at the moment," he said.
"I have come to realise that nothing is better than working with your hands."
His advice to early school leavers was not to follow the crowd and find something that "makes you tick".
"For me, I have always liked pulling apart lawnmowers and motorbikes, and now I get to pull apart mining equipment and put it back together," he said.
"It's great to learn, study and earn money - you have loads of support and you don't have a HECS debt, and you can always go back to university later."
Ms Chick said "today's industry isn't always going to be tomorrow's career" and encouraged younger people to not "focus so much on finding a passion straight away".
"Just find something that interests you. Sometimes it's easier to focus on understanding what you don't enjoy, so you know to recognise the difference when it comes to what you choose to do everyday," she said.
"For me it's taken nearly 20 years to trust my intuition."
Despite the number of school leavers, a move to improve retention rates are School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships, giving students the opportunity to obtain Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications alongside their Higher School Certificate.
The Newcastle Herald contacted the NSW Department of Education Skills Unit for comment, however they failed to respond within the required deadline.
