Careers team moving with the times

Careers training at secondary schools has taken a dramatic shift in little more than a decade. From courses and curriculum that placed the teacher in charge, today’s students are increasingly taking control of their own pathways to work.

“Our role has changed from advising students on what they should be doing for a career, to building the skills they need to make their own discoveries and make the best decisions for themselves,” Graeme Crosbie said.

Graeme started his own career as a primary school teacher majoring in physical education in 1985. He later moved into secondary studies in biology, agriculture and horticulture before honing his skills and leading the school’s careers training about a dozen years ago. Today, he is the Careers Leader for Greater Shepparton Secondary College (GSSC) and will become part of a larger team of trained career practitioners in the new college.

“Many of us recall a time when work was pretty predictable and you could build your career with a single employer, starting with sweeping floors and eventually becoming a senior manager,” Graeme said. “But the world of work is now changing so quickly – it’s estimated today’s students might have up to 16 careers in a lifetime.

“Our students need to be skilled in what they want and need to qualify for a particular job, but that’s not all,” Graeme said. “They need to be skilled in identifying how adding to those skills and adding to their experience will help them navigate their way to success as their roles and responsibilities change.”

Graeme said in years past, schools focused on delivering good work experience outcomes in Year 10 and strong academic guidance to Year 12s aiming for higher education.

“Now we’re about helping students develop and identify their skills and experience and finding different pathways to employment and opportunity.”

When GSSC opens its doors to students in 2022, Graeme will be one of three career practitioners, along with Susan Barr and Daniel Watson, each working in one of GSSC’s three Neighbourhoods. This will place career development at the core of student learning.

Whole college leadership of careers development will be taken on by Natasha (Tarsh) Boyko, former VCE leader at GSSC.

“I have a great mentor in Graeme and can’t wait to lead our careers team,” Tarsh said. “We have worked well across the four campuses but coming together at Hawdon St will mean a step up in opportunity, experience and facilities for our students.

“Our junior students will get a taste of this with the wonderful new facilities in our Neighbourhoods,” Tarsh said.

“The Enterprise and Innovation Centre provides the opportunity for our schools to re-set and provide the industry-equivalent facilities that are used in industry today.

“It’s an exciting time to be in teaching in our community – and helping students find their pathways to great opportunities in life.”