Investigating Pathways

Year 10 

Work Experience

Fiona Smith

Careers Education Coordinator

Year 10 Career Education includes a focus on Work Experience, so during May 125 Year 10 students enjoyed the opportunity to step out into the workforce.   

After COVID restrictions cancelled the program in 2020, it was exciting to once again see our students out in the world.  The feedback from employers was fantastic - a great indication of the maturity and work ethic of our students. 

The college issued a follow up survey to all students in order to collect feedback and data about their experience for use in evaluating and improving the college's Work Experience program. Work Experience can be a great way for a student to see what they do (or don’t) like about a job and can help to guide their future decisions in relation to a learning pathway.  As you can see from the survey data graphic below,  when asked about how their Work Experience has shaped their thinking, Work Experience clearly gave students some food for thought. Click to enlarge.

Here are some of the comments our students had to say about their experiencer: 

“I really enjoyed working at the primary school with all the kids. I liked helping ,,, and seeing what its like to work as a teacher. The days went really quickly and I felt very happy to go each day. I had previously not wanted to be a teacher, however after my experience I am more highly considering the career path, along with other careers related to helping children.” 

 “Doing Work Experience shows what goes into it as a job compared to a hobby. I don't think I want to pursue [this career], at least in the form [that] my employer was doing. I learned a lot and got some money which was great.” 

 “My placement was fun and informed me about what the work-life is like. I enjoyed being amongst lawyers and learned many things from them.” 

 “My work experience was a fun and  valuable experience to me. I learned a lot about professionalism and the engineering industry. Overall I gained new skills and a newly gained interest in electrical engineering.” 

“I liked the people at the placement and I learned how to do a few new things. The experience has certainly helped me think about what kind of work environment I want to work in in the future - probably not hospitality! I still had a good time though and I’m glad I did it.” 

“I learned what it is like to be a personal injury lawyer. It probably isn't the area of law that I want to be a part of, but it certainly opened my eyes to the world of law and all of the possibilities that are available there.” 

Students enjoyed placements in a variety of industries and workplaces, from teaching, architecture and retail sales through to hospitality and legal career placements. We congratulate these students on sourcing and taking advantage of these fabulous work opportunities, and we hope they use the experience gained to help define their career pathways.

Click on the gallery below to enlarge photos. 

Year 9 

Morrisby Career Interviews

In Year 9, Careers Education starts to focus on practical, real-world approaches to career planning.  

This term, we had the majority of Year 9 students complete the Morrisby Career Profile testing and take part in a feedback session with a Morrisby consultant as a follow up. Established in 1967, Morrisby aims to  help every student take on a rewarding career journey that suits their abilities, personality and ambition. 

The feedback from consultants was great: they commented on the maturity and varying interests of our students.    We hope this exercise gave our Year 9 students some insight into their personal strengths and interests and that, moving forward, this information will help guide them in their career planning. 

Term 3 Careers Education

Karen Harris

Principal

Looking forward to Term 3, we are excited to welcome Laura Hughes back after her family leave.  

With both Fiona and Laura on board, students will have many more opportunities to discuss their pathway options in depth. Given that the many options include  VET, VCAL, VCE, employment and Tertiary or TAFE options, the coordinators have the experience and time to assist each student to tailor their learning pathways to their specific needs and ambitions.  This will provide a greater chance of success for each individual student.

Brunswick Secondary looks forward to hosting a Year 11 2022 Subject Expo (Tuesday, August 3).  This event will feature

• Current Year 11 subject teachers - who will outline the curriculum
• Current Year 11 Students - who will share their experiences about studying a subject
• representatives from universities and other tertiary education providers - who can answer queries regarding course requirements and prerequisites. This event gives students the opportunity to investigate the subjects required for specific tertiary course,  which in turn helps them to make informed decisions regarding their Year 11 Subject Selections.  Year 11 teachers and current Year 11 students will also be avalableot provide students with more in depth information regarding specific studies.

As always please take some time to read each of our BSC Career Newsletters (published fortnightly) and don’t hesitate to contact the Careers team should you have any questions.