Training Opportunities

Connecting Community with Conservation

National Trust Queensland – Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary are very proud to have received significant recognition for our quality training programs and partnerships over the past few years.

2024 Gold Winner of Queensland Tourism Awards for Cultural Tourism
2024 & 2022 Regional Winners and Best in State of Queensland Training Awards
2024 & 2022 Category Winner Tourism, Hospitality & Events for Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards
2023, 2022 & 2021 Gold Winner of Queensland Tourism Awards for Major Tourist Attraction
2019 & 2018 Regional Winners of Queensland Training Awards
2018 Category Winner Student Employability for Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards

High School Students

Since 2009, over 400 high school students have completed our award-winning School Based Traineeship Program. Trainees work one paid day a week at the Sanctuary while studying for a nationally recognised Certificate III in Tourism. Open to Year 10 and Year 11 students, places are limited and selected through an application process.

You will work across areas including Tour Guiding and other Guest service related roles. This Traineeship qualification counts towards your QCE. We encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to apply. Find out more by contacting your High School Career Centre or Industry Liaison Officer.

Note: We do not offer any animal-related roles as part of this program.

A group of nine graduates wearing black caps and gowns stand on grass outdoors, smiling and holding their caps.

A group of people in matching shirts pose outdoors with garden tools and bins, smiling and giving thumbs up, surrounded by greenery.

TAFE Students

CERTIFICATE 3 IN WILDLIFE AND EXHIBITED ANIMAL CARE
We have a partnership program in place with TAFE NSW – Kingscliff. If you are accepted into this course, your Vet Nursing work experience may be conducted at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.

CERTIFICATE 4 IN VETERINARY NURSING
We have a partnership program in place with TAFE NSW – Kingscliff. If you are accepted into this course, your Vet Nursing work experience may be conducted at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital. Please contact TAFE NSW directly for more details.

University Students

We host WIL (Work Integrated Learning) Internships for students from multiple universities. Opportunities exist for unpaid internships across a variety of departments which can include roles in Wildlife, Veterinary Research, Business, IT Systems and projects, Sales and Events, Marketing, Fundraising and Human Resources. Placements are arranged according to our current business needs and projects, in partnership with the placement officer from your educational institution.

Interested? Please email us details of your placement request.

A woman kneels next to a koala climbing a tree, holding an open metal animal carrier lined with a pink towel, in a wooded outdoor area.

Veterinary staff in green uniforms work in a clinic, tending to an animal on an examination table surrounded by medical equipment and computer monitors.

Veterinary Science Students

Limited opportunities exist for clinical placement within our Wildlife Hospital for final year Australian Domestic and International Veterinarian students. More info can be found here for domestic students and international students.

Community Training Partnership Projects

We love connecting Community to careers in conservation. In 2025, we are hosting the following accredited training at the Sanctuary and our associated properties:

Cert 1 Construction (VETIS) with Gold Coast Trades College
SQW Cert 1 Conservation and Ecosystem Management (a Skilling Queenslanders for Work project) at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
SQW Cert 1 Construction and Cert 1 Business with Busy Skills360 Group (a Skilling Queenslanders for Work project)
SQW Cert 1 Construction with National Institute of Construction Skills (a Skilling Queenslanders for Work project)
Cert 2 Animal Care with Taronga Training Institute – Online course with assessments held onsite at the Sanctuary
Cert 2 Animal Care with Taronga Training Institute – Online course with assessments held onsite at the Sanctuary
Cert 2 Animal Care with Taronga Training Institute – For High School students, hybrid study, both online and onsite held at the Sanctuary
Certificate 3 in Tourism – School Based Traineeship at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
Certificate 3 in Wildlife and Exhibited Animal Care with TAFE QLD and TAFE NSW
Work Integrated Learning Internship placements with Queensland Universities

Note: Projects vary annually according to partnership and funding approvals.

Email Us

Three women wearing high-visibility work shirts and hats stand outdoors in a forested area, smiling at the camera.

Jingeri – Hello

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the greater Yugambeh language region, the Country on which Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Hospital are situated today. We recognise their continuing connections to the land, sky, waters (waterways), and wildlife. We thank them for caring for this Country and its ecosystems.

We celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and we pay our respect to Elders past and present.