LLEN News 

Structured Workplace Learning Update 

2020 has thus far been a tough ride for our City LLEN employers;  some are working remotely, others have had to reduce their staffing and trading capacity. Many have also had to pivot their business in accordance to pandemic restrictions. Some Employers are busier than ever but are not able to accommodate SWL placements as a result of business compliance during the pandemic.  

The City LLEN is here to support all of our employers where possible.

The good news is that all City LLEN employers have advised that they are looking forward to accommodating SWL opportunities again once their businesses allow so for all VCAL VET students looking for SWL opportunities. We will keep students and teachers updated as the rest of the year unfolds and will endeavour to plan accordingly.  

In the meantime Wendy Dalkiran, the City LLEN Workplace Learning Coordinator, is happy to chat with VCAL teachers and students to discuss future SWL options and pre-plan for when employers are ready to accommodate SWL placements again.   

Wendy can also speak with VCAL teachers to discuss ways to support students, such as activities which the City LLEN can organise which align with VCAL PDS.

The City LLEN is also happy to assist teachers needing to analyse eligibility reports as well as finding ways to support VCAL students to complete year 12. 

Contact Wendy at wendydalkiran@cityllen.org.au 

Wendy Dalkiran 

Workplace Learning Coordinator 

Creativity Really is a Career

This highly successful and well received webinar was held in early September and showcased Alicia (Ali) Kuzmycz, Design Lecturer at Torrens University.  Ali discussed the pathways and journey of her own career and explained the depth and breadth of roles available for students with a creative streak.  An entertaining presentation covering the topics: sticking to your intuition and following your dreams, what to do when the going gets tough and you’re unemployed, how to build a portfolio,  networking and building contacts in creative fields, how to leverage opportunities and adapt to challenging circumstances.

North Melbourne/Flemington & Carlton Public Housing – Student Engagement

The LLEN has been attending the evening community online meetings for the residents who experienced hard lockdown in North Melbourne and Flemington with DHHS, DET, community organisations and community leaders from the African Australian community to learn and provide advice where we can.  The residents are naturally reeling from the impact of Covid-19 under difficult circumstances and are keen to embrace the opportunity to talk directly with government departments and community organisations to improve their opportunities.  For the LLEN this means providing advice about Learn Locals and Skills and Jobs Centres, Special Consideration procedures for Year 12 VCE students and working with the Somali Women’s Development Association to help improve their governance processes to support their capacity to deliver services to their community.  We are also partnering with IMAAP (Inner Melbourne African Australian Partnership) to deliver careers counselling and other supports to African Australian students.

Via our partnership with University High, Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Carlton Primary School amongst others we have been holding fortnightly zoom meetings to identify strategies to further support students residing in Carlton public housing, this has resulted in many initiatives, including a forum for parents on remote learning and sharing of information that helps all partners, parents of students and partners.  The LLEN was also asked to attend and present to DET on the work we have been doing to support students in public housing.

LLEN Network Report – Impact of Covid-19

As well as the Engage report for the Department of Education, the City LLEN has also contributed to the LLEN Network report that gathers feedback from schools across the state on the impact of Covid-19 on schools and students.  We will make this available as soon as we can.

On Track Connect

This year we received fewer referrals than previoys years and noted not one referral was for an early school leaver or Year 11 student.  As participation in On Track is voluntary and depends on students/guardians ticking a box when enrolling; any analysis of trends is difficult to make, although in this instance it would be great to assume there were no Year 11’s leaving school before Year 12, this is probably not the case. 

It is interesting to note that the Year 12 students we spoke to, were doing quite well emotionally but had decided to defer their first year university studies due to the pandemic.  They mentioned as reasons; missing the university experience, not enjoying online learning, the cost of paying for courses that are not being fully delivered – such as Science courses with high practicial program costs which are not being delivered but still being charged by the university and paucity of good online social experiences or lecturer support.

Project Me

The Capital City LLEN is partnering with the Big Sister Experience to bring their popular and successful program Project Me to secondary schools across the state via an online platform. Re-focused and designed for this post Covid-19 era Project Me recognises that young women and girls are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of losing connection and many require mental health strategies to build greater resilience and make informed pathway decisions. It includes a free four week fully automated course consisting of video’s, blogs, tasks and activities, as well as access to online mentoring. 

Contact Louise Smith @ louisesmith@cityllen.org.au

Information and registration at:

https://workplacements.education.vic.gov.au/events/?id1=g78jked0&id2=0100c162

Part- time Jobs in the City Advice and Mock Interviews

Once things begin to return to normal, we hope the retail and hospitality sector will bounce back with gusto and need lots of young people to place in part-time work.  Research shows that part-time work really contributes to students sense of well-being, teaches work-life balance, team skills, negotiation, tolerance among many others not to mention the income gained helps them to gain a sense of independence. Many students however lack the knowledge regarding how to go about finding a part-time job, what to say, what to write and how to handle themselves in an interview with an employer.  As a result the City LLEN are offering students in the City of Melbourne the chance to speak with one of us to gain advice and do a practice interview over Skype, Microsoft Teams or Zoom.  Note all of our staff have a Working with Children’s Check and we have a Child Safety Policy governing our interactions with students and most of our staff are ex-teachers and/or have extensive experience helping young people into work and delivering careers advice.  Please register for this program via the SWL portal

Careers Counselling for Students with a Chronic Illness

Every year we deliver a forum in partnership with the Royal Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald Learning Centre for students with a chronic illness to support them in their final years of secondary school. We also teach them about the supports and programs they are eligible for to help their pathway to university, TAFE of employment.  Due to Covid-19 we have cancelled this event but are still able to offer part of the program online and provide careers counselling to the students who are long term patients of the RCH or other hospital.  Interested students or teachers can enquire directly to our Careers Counsellor, Andrew Smith via andrewsmith@cityllen.org.au or register via the portal.