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Career Paths You Can Pursue with a Certificate III in Sport, Aquatics and Recreation

A lot of students finish Year 12 unsure of what comes next. The ones who have spent two years in a SEDA sports development program tend to have a clearer picture, partly because of the industry experience they have built, and partly because of the qualification sitting alongside their WACE.

The SIS30122 Certificate III in Sport, Aquatics and Recreation is a nationally recognised VET credential that every student earns as part of completing a SEDA sports development program. It is not an add-on or a bonus. It is a core part of what makes the SEDA approach different from a traditional school.

But what does it actually open up? The answer is broader than most people expect.

It Is Not Just a Sport Credential

The Certificate III sits within the sport, aquatics and recreation industry, but the skills it represents travel across a lot of different fields. Students who earn it have developed practical capabilities in coaching, officiating, first aid, program planning, communication, and working with people in real environments. Those skills are useful in sport, but they are also useful in health, education, community development, event management, and more.

SEDA graduates have gone on to work and study in a genuinely wide range of industries. The Pathways and Alumni page lists where graduates actually end up, including sport and recreation, community development, education, sport coaching, sport management, event management, youth work, healthcare, administration, and even police and defence.

That range tells you something important. The Certificate III is a starting point, not a ceiling.

What Graduates Have Actually Done with It

The clearest way to understand where the Certificate III can take you is to look at what SEDA graduates have actually done after finishing the program.

Cale Provan graduated and went on to work as a Digital Media and Marketing Coordinator at the Fremantle Dockers Football Club. The networking opportunities and skills he built through SEDA gave him the foundation to start his career in the AFL industry.

Kyle Donaldson used the applied learning model at SEDA to develop the skills he needed to become a personal trainer. After graduating, he worked with the West Australian Football Commission before completing a Certificate III and IV in Fitness and building his own personal training business.

Jaxon Liddelow graduated and went on to complete a traineeship at the West Australian Football Commission. He later moved into a Development Officer role at East Fremantle, managing competitions, diversity and inclusion programs, and grassroots football development.

Lauren O’Connor completed work placements at Cooinda Primary School and the Fremantle Dockers Membership Department while at SEDA. After graduating in 2019, she stepped straight into full-time work as an Administration Assistant before working her way up to Registrar at SEDA College WA.

These are not outliers. They reflect what is possible when a qualification is earned inside a real industry environment rather than in a classroom alone.

Further Study Is Also on the Table

The Certificate III does not have to be the end of the education journey. SEDA graduates have access to a range of further education pathways through partnerships with universities and training providers.

SEDA graduates can continue further education through a Dual Diploma program with SEDA Group, studying in a practical, hands-on environment with continued exposure to elite Australian sporting organisations. Pathway partners listed on the SEDA website include Murdoch University, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Notre Dame Australia, IVET, and Skillhire.

Nikki Ellaway is an example of that pathway. She graduated from SEDA in 2011, went on to complete a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education at Deakin University, received her first teaching appointment at Wesley College Melbourne, and later returned to Perth to teach in the Netball WA program at SEDA College WA.

Shakayla Walley took a different direction entirely, going on to study a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of Notre Dame Australia. She credits the independence she developed at SEDA as a key part of what prepared her for university life.

How SEDA Students Earn the Certificate III

The Certificate III is earned as part of completing a two-year sports development program at SEDA College WA. Students choose a program linked to the sport they care most about, with programs currently available in basketball, football, netball, cricket, soccer, and rugby.

The Certificate III is earned through doing rather than just studying, built into a two-year program alongside a WACE qualification and real industry experience inside a major Western Australian sporting organisation.

For students who want to understand what the full journey looks like, our Student Journey page is a good place to start.

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