Inspiring students

In November last year, I took part in a five day work Experience program at the Royal Australian Air Force Base in Richmond. I chose to apply for this as I have always wanted to join the Defence Force, but I was unsure about which pathway would be best suited for me. The application process wasn’t difficult and consisted of filling out two short responses about why you want to be involved in the Defence Work Experience Program and what knowledge you have about the jobs inside the RAAF.

The time I spent at the RAAF base has extended my passion and knowledge about the jobs and lifestyle within the Air Force and has greatly influenced my decision to continue to develop a career in this field. We were given the opportunity to undertake various activities as well as gain skills to effectively contribute in a team environment. Some things that interested me most was the tour of the C130 Aircraft, fire and rescue department, flight simulator, and the guns and weaponry. Some activities during the week undeniably brought me out of my comfort zone and challenged me but in the end, improved my confidence and trust within myself and the colleagues around me. I learnt that the expectations in regard to being punctual, uniform/dress code and attitude is something the Defence Force holds very high standards for. I feel that being taught these manners and employability skills are very important, not only to citizens within the Defence Force but is extended to individuals in everyday life and the work force beyond school whether your job is defence associated or a civilian job.

I would greatly recommend this program to anyone thinking about a career in the Air Force or even the Defence Force in general.

There are other programs on offer for Army and Navy related work experiences and although I am yet to part take in them, based on the RAAF one I have no doubt they would be equally as informing. The applications to apply can be found here, on the  Defence Work Experience website.

Jayde Cox, Year 11

Hi, I’m Ethan Worth, currently in Year 12.  Whilst I was in Year 10, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to participate in work experience here at school with Mr Vargas, our IT Technician.  During my time with Mr Vargas, I was able to enhance my IT skills in Coding, in HTML, CSS, PHP and Java script.   IT is something I have been passionate about for a long time so this was a great experience for me.

Mr Vargas continued to mentor me and with his guidance, I was able to further develop 

develop my IT skills.

Last week, our school’s Career and Transition team provided me with details of an

advertised position within the area of IT.  I was very excited to hear this as I knew  that

job prospects during this time were quite rare!   Time to apply for the job -  I was feeling

rather nervous.. However, Mrs Reid our Careers Adviser guided me with the skills I needed to sell my strengths to the prospective employer. I made the call to the employer and he offered me a telephone interview! 

I feel very privileged to say that I have been successful in gaining this part-time position as a marketing and website developer, leading to a full time position once I complete my

schooling.

This would not have been possible without the mentoring, guidance and ongoing support of  Mr Vargas and the Career Transition team - Mrs Reid, Mr Alfonsi and Ms Schell.

Ethan Worth, Year 12