Year 9 Ignite Careers Expo

Last Tuesday, the Year 9 Ignite students were privileged to be able to hear from many different industries and leaders in our local community.  Set up as a Careers Expo, groups rotated around several stations, where we could learn more and ask questions about the presenters’ careers and what they studied to get there.

I really enjoyed listening to the early childhood learning presenters from Shine Bright as they talked about the many different ways of qualifying. It surprised me to learn how many different ways you can advance in the industry and the mentoring that occurs. However, I am not sure whether I would have the patience to look after little children – it sounded quite demanding.  

I also enjoyed listening to an IT consultant who lived in Japan working as an engineer for an American company. While in Japan, he was able to extend his understanding of Japan’s unique culture and on his return to Australia he created his own IT consulting firm. Deepcore Drilling, a mining company, discussed how many different employees they needed – from engineers to accountants, to miners and electricians. They designed and created their own mining equipment and now employ hundreds of people in our area.

A common theme among all the presenters was that you don’t have to decide on just one career – many of them had trained as something else and then found out what they loved doing later on. One presenter was initially wanting to be an actor and then he found his passion in filmmaking, working now as a freelance consultant at the Emporium Creative Hub in Bendigo.

Pippa Bett

9 Aherne

In my opinion, I found the person from Maxsum Consulting the most interesting as his job uses technology to help other people, which I enjoy. I also enjoyed listening to Hebron Film about filmmaking. He talked about how their company works and what qualities he finds useful in an employee. I learned that there are a lot more jobs than the ones we see every day. I enjoyed seeing all the different jobs and hearing about how each of them works. I also enjoyed looking at the jobs and considering if I want to have a career like that in the future. The careers expo was a very fun thing to experience for me and it was nice to listen to everyone’s different professions. – Wencheng Zhang (9 Riley)

Last week, my fellow Year 9 students and I attended the Careers Expo, which was an enlightening experience that not only introduced us to exciting career possibilities but also changed our perceptions of the journey from school to the workforce. What struck me the most was that a career often resembles a winding journey rather that a straight path to success. We learnt from various businesses about their services, what they actually do daily, how they got into their occupation, and what certifications they needed for their work. The businesses that were present on the day included Fur Life and Shine Bright, which provided critical insight into their professions, ranging from animal services to early years education. We learnt about Bendigo Law and the ever-expanding legal profession. Others spoke about IT and computing services, and personal training.  However Deepcore Drilling stood out to me as being the most interesting and innovative with their mission to extract valuable resources from deep underground. What was amazing was the professionals' willingness to share their personal journeys and knowledge to deepen our understanding of what a career path can lead to. In summary, the Careers Expo proved to be an exceptional experience that showed unexplored career paths and potential future opportunities in our careers. I'm excited to secure work experience with some of these businesses next year. – Ashan Dhanapala (9 Riley)

On Tuesday 28 August 2023, Girton had a Careers Expo. There were several different interesting careers showcased. There were a few universities there. During House Tutor, Year 9 students had the opportunity to see some of the stalls there (other classes could go during lunch). I was surprised when I saw ambulance officers there. They taught us how to do CPR on a dummy – it was a bit tiring but fun. If we did well, we would get a small prize containing a squeaky toy (that annoyed some teachers!). What I enjoyed was the presentation about video editing because I was interested in technology. They also provided a video for us to watch. Overall, it was quite an amazing day and I got to know more about possible careers for the future. – Haoming Zheng (9 Riley)