Brisbane Broncos and TAFE Queensland team up to tackle off-field skills

Imagine watching your favourite football team training during your lunch break, or volunteering on the sidelines during games, all while earning a TAFE Queensland qualification.

That's the reality for students at the Brisbane Broncos Sport Business Institute, a partnership between NRL club the Brisbane Broncos and TAFE Queensland.

The Institute is building and nurturing talent off the football field, offering a one-year dual-diploma course in Sport and Leadership and Management to help those wishing to change careers or level up their current career pathway.

Perfect for the sports enthusiast, it provides students with access to high-performance facilities, key industry experts and work-based placement with the Broncos and other clubs and sports, both in Australia and overseas.

The course builds the skills and knowledge needed to manage people, relationships, networks and teams in sport, and become a better leader.

Will my brain kick into gear?

For Shaani Spence, a keen Broncos fan and an experienced community leader with a background in administration and finance, the course enabled her to get back into the workforce after having children.

 “In 2009 I took a career break to be a stay-at-home mum, bringing up three boys,” Shaani said. “Thirteen years later I was thinking of going back to work and saw the course advertised. I thought 'Why not jump in and combine my two passions of leadership and sport?'"

When she was accepted for the course, Shaani says her biggest fear was "Will my brain kick into gear"?

“The juggle of home life and study wasn't easy and initially it was a little overwhelming," she said. "I think I just learned to deal with it by getting a lot of the work done in class so there was less to do back at home."

Shaani was supported to complete work experience not only with the Broncos, but with other sports organisations, including at the FIFA Women's World Cup.

"Of course, there's differences between codes and between organisations and this allowed me to gain a really well-rounded experience," she said.

Living her dream

Shaani found another benefit of the course is that the Broncos commit to hiring a minimum of two students from each completed cohort into full-time roles at the club.

“I applied for these, but wasn’t successful,” she said. Then a new opportunity came up: for the position of Student Experience Co-ordinator at the Institute, providing a support role for the students.

“This was really appealing to me, because it dealt with not just the administration side of things, but the people aspect as well, being around students, helping and supporting them.

“I was very honoured to be chosen for this role and to make an impact on many people's lives. I really am living my dream,” she said.

The team behind the team

Shaani’s leader, Kirsty Jarrett, Education Program Manager at the Institute said: “Not all of us can be professional athletes, but in any elite sport, there is a significant ‘team behind the team'.

“With Brisbane hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it’s exciting to be building a pipeline of talent that can help all codes here in Brisbane,” she added.

Kirsty highlighted the broader significance of the partnership with TAFE Queensland, calling it a game-changer for sports education. “It reflects a broader industry trend of integrating academic pathways with real-world opportunities in elite sports environments.

“The Broncos remain the biggest brand in Australia sport, with some of the most experienced and high-profile staff working at the Club. For students to have access to this level of subject matter experts in sports administration is a huge point of difference.

“It also demonstrates how TAFEs work best when they work hand-in-hand with industry. By giving students an inner sanctum experience, we’renot only equipping them with skills but also creating direct pathways into careers, and, for some, a full-time role at our club at the end of it,” added Kirsty.

*The Brisbane Broncos are one of a growing list of Brisbane sports teams, including the Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Suns,  Brisbane Bullets, as well as Queensland Cricket who own the Brisbane Heat Big Bash League licence, who have partnered with TAFE Queensland to launch institutes that combine education with hands-on sports business experience.