Work Experience

Over the Easter holidays, from 17 to 21 April, Lily and I had the privilege of participating in work experience at the NSW Treasury in the Economic Strategy and Productivity Group.

On the first day, we were given lanyards and a tour of the facilities, with many different levels for meetings, social events and for different Treasury groups. We were given an induction about the purpose and structure of the Treasury, including the different divisions and their roles, and then began our work experience. Throughout the week we attended divisional presentations, training courses and weekly task group meetings to experience the environment in the wide scope of fields at the Treasury. Our work experience followed the appointment of NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, and subsequently, numerous meetings were held to discuss the transition and change in government.

Alongside these larger meetings, we were able to meet one-on-one with groups working on specific projects, researching or designing policies to address economic issues that had been identified. These meetings allowed us to gain a deeper appreciation for the depth of analysis and the variety of career opportunities in the Treasury. In particular, the most fascinating task groups presented their findings on investigating the uptake of electric vehicles in NSW, the development of the shared equity housing scheme, long-term data forecasting and NSW’s transition to net-zero emissions.

Between meetings Lily and I worked on specific projects to participate in typical research and investigations within the Economic Strategy and Productivity division. At the conclusion of the week we submitted documents investigating trends in the NSW housing market, evaluating suggested climate change policies and examining reasons for exemptions for staged repeals in regulations. 

The team environment at the office was lovely, with everyone being extremely welcoming, eager to introduce themselves and to hear about our experiences. Each day Lily and I were assigned different assistant economists, who accompanied us to meetings and oversaw our schedule. Additionally, we had lunch and morning tea breaks with employees in different divisions, such as the First Nations Economic Wellbeing team, who were happy to share their project findings.

The relaxed and collaborative atmosphere at the divisional meetings was especially lovely, with everyone sharing updates about their personal lives as well as their projects, encouraging others to make suggestions. We particularly enjoyed casual conversations after meetings about economic issues and current events, as all employees were involved and had numerous interesting insights to share.

In conclusion, work experience at NSW Treasury was eye-opening week, immersing us within the vast scope of career opportunities available to us. It was wonderful to translate our economic theory into practical applications, and provided a much greater perspective and understanding of economic issues facing NSW. This week granted us the opportunity to experience work within an office environment, including the incorporation of technology such as Teams into meetings, enabling individuals to work from home whilst still contributing to team discussions. Most helpfully, everyone was happy to discuss their different paths, such as university and career courses, into working with the Treasury, and the value they found from working together with the NSW government to implement large-scale change. Lily and I greatly enjoyed our time at the NSW Treasury, and are very thankful to our facilitators Ms Hung and Ms Pinnock for making it possible.

Laura Davies (Year 12) and Lily Coombe (Year 11)