Update from our Careers Adviser

This term we have had an opportunity for our Year 11 students to apply for ‘Uni Step Up’ at Australian Catholic University at Blacktown. This meant that students could apply for courses in Nursing, Criminology, Business or Sport and Leisure. If successful, students attend university for around 2 weeks in the July holidays and in January. They do some assessment tasks and complete the courses which means that those courses will be credited once they go to university. It also means that they will receive early entry into ACU in their chosen course. Instead of doing 4 subjects a semester in the first year, they can choose to do 3 subjects a semester for the first year as they would have already completed two. The good thing is that they are also free. There have been some students from our school apply and they will find out whether they have been accepted in the course later in the year. Meanwhile two of our Year 12 students successfully completed the ‘Uni Step Up’ course this year. They are Subhan Chowdhury (who completed Nursing) and Cadence Blom (who completed Criminology). They graduated on Wednesday, June 3. It is great that our school has the opportunity to do this course as only a few schools in the area have the opportunity.

On Thursday, June 4 the Macarthur Area Careers (MACE) Expo was held. Around 25 local schools attended. 47 students from our school (in Years 10 and 12) attended the event at the Minto Basketball Centre. The cost was only $5. Our school attended between 9AM to 10.30AM. Several exhibits including various universities, TAFENSW, the defence force, police force, apprenticeships, traineeships, school-based apprenticeships, Streets and many employment agencies were there. It was a great opportunity for the students to ask questions and have discussions with exhibitors.

On Friday, June 26, the Western Sydney Expo will be held. This will be a bigger expo with over a hundred exhibitors. So there will be opportunities for students to see employers/employees from several jobs. Most of the universities will be there including Sydney University, UNDSW, Macquarie University, Western Sydney University, Wollongong University, Notre Dame and Torrens University to name a few. TAFENSW will be there as well as the defence force and police force etc. This expo is for any Year 12 students who wish to go and for some Year 11 students who would like to attend. This will be an all day event. Cost is $10. We have a limit of 50 students that can go.

Next term we will have a first aid course in Week 3 or 4. Any student who would like to do the course can see Mr. Melluish. There will be a White Card course again in Week 8, Term 3. A limit of 20 students can attend that. This is for students who would be interested in working on a construction site as it is a requirement to have a white card if you work on a construction site. Four students from our school have enrolled for the RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) at the Campbelltown RSL on Monday and Tuesday, June 15 & 16. The course is free which is a big saving as it usually costs around $200. There will be another free course later in the year.

‘Start Your Future’ Courses will continue in term 3 at Campbelltown Liverpool and Miller TAFES. These are taster courses in preparation for EVET courses in Year 11. They go for 8 weeks one day a week between 9am to 3pm. Courses include Beauty, Hospitality, Mechanics and many more. There will be more courses in term 4. Students can do this every term. It is free and a great way to see if students would be interested in pursuing these pathways. See Mr. Melluish if interested.

There will also be Mock Interviews for Year 10 in early Term 4. Students will be prepared for the event. They will wear formal attire for the interview and will be prepared for the interview in Career Lessons. Also the Subject Selection Night will occur in Term 3. Students have completed surveys in the lead up to this. If students are interested in Work Experience or would like a resume, see Mr. Melluish in either Break 1 or 2 Monday to Friday (only break 1 on a Tuesday).

Mr Phil Melluish

Careers Adviser