Career & Pathways

Mock Interviews

After working hard throughout the term in Explore, Year 9s were given the opportunity to put their skills to the test when they attended a mock job interview in Week 8.  Students “applied” for a job out of a selection of options, created their resume and cover letter, and practiced their interview skills. They arrived at school promptly for their job interview, where they were interviewed by their Explore teacher and an industry representative, and afterwards provided with immediate feedback.  We were blown away by how much preparation the Year 9's undertook, and loved seeing them dressed up very snazzy for the occasion! 

A huge thank you to our community members and staff who volunteered time out of their busy schedules to help our students with this invaluable experience.  We were fortunate enough to have parent and community volunteers, representatives from the Department of Education, OELLEN, Headstart, Swinburne Jobs and Skills Centre, MEGT, and of course, some of our wonderful staff.

Students will be reflecting upon their experiences during Explore in Week 9, where they will be given the opportunity to take on the feedback to make changes to their resumes and cover letters and continue to work on responses to potential interview questions.  We wish them all the best in their applications for real part-time or casual jobs when the time comes!

Morrisby Profiling

Our Year 9s have commenced their participation in the My Career Insights program, where they completed the Morrisby profiling in Week 8.  Students were required to complete an online assessment which looked at aptitudes, interests, personalities, and work styles and preferences.  Later in Term 2, all Year 9 students will be having a 30 minute session with a Careers Consultant from the Australian Centre for Career Education.  This will be invaluable as students begin to plan for their Year 10 programs and consider their options for VCE, including early-start subjects next year.

If any students are yet to complete their profiling, please ensure that this is completed over the holidays.  For any students that are yet to log on, please message Mrs Dennison or Mr Knowles on Teams and we will provide you with information.

Year 10 Work Experience

Students are in the process of seeking Work Experience placements for May 20 – 24, where they will get the opportunity to experience working full time in the 'real world'!  We are encouraging students to get out there and have a look at a career that they may be interested in pursuing in the future.  It can be difficult to find Work Experience placements, but we urge students and their families to try to think outside the box and seek out a placement that is related in some way to the career they are interested in.  If students would like some extra pointers, they are welcome to speak with their Explore teacher or to message or see Mrs Dennison or Mr Knowles.

A reminder that work experience forms are due to be handed in to the Pathways Hub by the end of Week 1 of Term 2 – Friday 19 April.  Forms must be fully completed and be brought in together.  Please make sure these are signed and every section is completed.

Forms we should be receiving are:

• Work Experience Arrangement Form
• Safe@Work certificate – General module
• Safe@Work certificate – other industry-related module
• If applicable – Travel & Accommodation Arrangements form
• If applicable – Working with Animals form

If any students require any additional forms, please message Mrs Dennison or Mr Knowles or come to the Pathways Hub where we have copies out the front.

White Card

We have been able to book in a White Card training session with Star Training at the college on Wed 24 April.  It will cost approximately $120. This is NOT a school requirement for all students who participate in Work Experience, however some workplaces/ employers will require students to have one.  This is often the case in the Building and Construction Industry.  If in doubt, please contact the employer directly or contact a member of the Careers and Pathways Team at the college.  If you would like your child to participate in this session, please contact me via email (hoo@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au) by Mon 15 April so they can be added to the Compass Event for consent and payment.

Work Experience Roundtable

On Tuesday 19 March, Mrs Jessie Dennison and five Year 11 students attended a Work Experience Roundtable organised by the Outer East teams of the Department of Education.  School Industry Roundtables are a collaborative event designed to bring integral stakeholders together to identify barriers and challenges facing modern-day school and industry landscapes.  The work experience roundtable involved:

• Bringing together the OELLEN, Head Start Hub representatives, School Career Practitioners, selected industry representatives, students and other stakeholders to increase industry engagement via work experience for local school students. In doing this, the is to increase a young person's connection to industry, their work-related skills and knowledge, in order to support their career development and educational/career pathways.
• Identifying the unique challenges faced by schools, employers and students when attempting to access a meaningful workplace opportunity.
• Trying to determine how the volume of quality student work experience opportunities can increase in the Outer East.
• Developing potential alternate models/ideas for work experience that can be accessed and supported by schools and businesses.
• Providing meaningful work experience, work-related learning and workplace learning opportunities that are linked to VET pathways, SWL, and SBATs.

We selected five Year 11 students who were invited to come along and share their experiences; all positive interactions and learnings along with the challenges that they experienced in accessing Work Experience.  We spent the day brainstorming ideas of how we could make Work Experience more accessible for students, moving forward, with a shared goal to provide students with a meaningful workplace experience as students explore and pursue their pathways.

A huge thank you to Mitch Boneham, Mitch Buckingham, Dyllan Marget, Ash Rawlings & Bodhi Wilson for joining Mrs Dennison and sharing the most important perspective on Work Experience – that of the student!

Year 12

We continue to meet with many of our Year 12 students to look at pathway options.  In every meeting, we look at VTAC CourseSearch – the one-stop shop for students to explore tertiary courses.  We show students how to use the function and explore courses of interests at different institutions, pointing out important information such as ATAR requirements and pre-requisite subjects, as well as majors available and a general overview of the course.  

We encourage students to explore courses further on individual institution websites once they have found some of interest.  Attached below is a fact sheet on how to use VTAC CourseSearch.  We encourage students to begin exploring courses now, so that they can attend Open Days in July and August and make a truly informed decision later in the year as they enter their preferences.

Career News 

Items in the 15th March edition of Career News include:

• Dates to Diarise in Term 1
• RMIT April Campus Tours
• GAP Year Opportunities with CCUSA
• News from Swinburne University
  • A Day in the Life of a Swinburne Student Events
  • Work Integrated Learning at Swinburne
• Studying Forensic Science at Deakin
• Photography Workshops in the April Holidays at PSC
• What is a Sports Physiotherapist?
• The Nexus Program at La Trobe University
• Australian Apprenticeships and Traineeships Information Service
• Dual Electrical Qualifications Program at Federation University
• Data Science & Information Systems Degrees in Victoria in 2024
• Snapshot of La Trobe University in 2024

Items in the 22nd March edition of Career News include: 

• Dates to Diarise in Term 2
• University of Melbourne: A Day at Melbourne
• Photography & Digital Imaging Workshops
• La Trobe University: Experience La Trobe
• Studying Design Courses at RMIT
• Studying the Bachelor of Cyber Security at Victoria University
• News from Swinburne University
  • Studying Law at the Swinburne
  • Studying Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Swinburne
• The Freight, Transport, and Logistics Industry
• Film & Television Courses in Victoria in 2024
• Snapshot of RMIT University in 2024 

Items in the 28th March Career News include:

• Dates to Diarise in Term 2
• Holmesglen Institute Open Day
• VCE and Careers Expo 2024
• Monash University: Make Music with Us Workshops
• University of Melbourne: Residential Colleges Open House
• Collarts Open Day 2024
• Studying the Bachelor of Data Science at VU
• Studying the Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Deakin
• What does a Computer Systems Auditor do?
• Outdoor Leadership Course at Holmesglen
• Aviation Courses in Victoria in 2024  
• Snapshot of Australian Catholic University in 2024

Jessie Dennison

den@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au           

Tim Knowles

kno@wantirnacollege.vic.edu.au

Career Practitioners