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    Media release

    TAFE NSW Randwick | 8 September 2025

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    50-year-old apprentice reignites career in booming industry

    “I love this job. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”

    Jason Day, Banks, ACT

    TAFE NSW has helped a former garbage collector, long-time plasterer and grandfather of three make an unlikely career pivot to the booming fire protection industry – aged 46.

    Jason Day, from Banks ACT, spent two decades as a plasterer and years as a garbage collector before becoming an apprentice sprinkler fitter in 2021, a move he describes as, “the best decision I’ve ever made.”

    Sprinkler fitters, also known as fire protection plumbers, have been listed on Jobs and Skills Australia’s Occupational Shortage List for four consecutive years, reinforcing the critical skills shortage facing the industry. Australia’s fire protection services market is worth about $4 billion annually, according to IBISWorld, and growing.

    Jason Day smiles at the camera while working indoors surrounded by tools and equipment. He wears a hi-vis, yellow, polo shirt, a hard-hat and a tool belt.

    Now a fourth-year apprentice with O’Neill and Brown Plumbing, Fire and Electrical, Mr. Day spends three days a month honing his practical skills and knowledge at TAFE NSW Randwick, the only TAFE NSW campus to offer the niche trade and one of only a handful of training organisations nationwide.

    “I love this job. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made,” Mr. Day said. “When I was offered an apprenticeship, I was worried it wouldn’t pay me enough but sprinkler fitters are in such high demand, I nearly fell off my chair when they told me my salary.

    “To do a good honest day’s work, and to know you’re helping protect people and property, is so satisfying.”

    Sprinkler fitters work in a highly specialised trade focused on installing, servicing and maintaining fire suppression systems, such as sprinklers, hydrants and hose reels. Apprentices complete a Certificate III in Fire Protection.

    Stricter building codes and regulations, growth in construction and ageing infrastructure are all driving demand for more fire protection plumbers.

    Despite being the oldest member of the class by almost three decades, Mr Day said TAFE NSW had helped “reignite” his professional passion.

    “I’m old enough to be my classmates’ dad but TAFE NSW has been amazing. The teachers are so experienced and keen to share their knowledge,” he said. “Everyone wants to do the high-profile trades like carpentry but fire protection is such a cool, technical trade and there’s so much demand. I’ve done a million different jobs but never done one where I jump out of bed in the morning like this.”

    TAFE NSW Randwick fire protection plumbing teacher Peter Edmonds, a 46-year industry veteran who consults to a number of peak industry bodies, said Mr Day is a powerful example of how TAFE NSW helps locals reskill or upskill, regardless of age.

    “Jason is proof that you’re never too old to start a career,” Mr Edmonds said. “As safety regulations have improved over the years, the demand for sprinkler fitters has grown quite substantially.

    “TAFE NSW really is the go-to industry for training in fire protection and we give graduates the real-world, practical skills to succeed.

    “A number of our graduates are able to open their own businesses as soon as they qualify, which you can’t say for many trades.”

    Media contact: Dan Johns, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, 02 7920 5000.

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