Careers & Pathways Team

Term 4 Newsletter – Careers and Pathways Team 

Congratulations to ALL Year 12 Students! 

The Careers Team would like to congratulate all Year 12 students on completing their secondary school education and we wish them all well in their future study and work endeavours.  

We have thoroughly enjoyed meeting and supporting all students with their pathway options and it’s wonderful to see so many variations in future plans, including University, TAFE, apprenticeships and GAP years.  

The Careers Team is happy to continue to assist students at the beginning of next year with any variations in their plans, feel free to get in contact next year and we can assist where we can.   

Vocational Education Training (VET) Report  

Congratulations to all students that have undertaken a VET course and especially to those that have completed their VET certificate this year. 

VET is a wonderful opportunity for students to experience another level of hands-on learning, combined with their school-based subjects. It allows students to get practical industry insight and experience which enables them to make informed decisions about their future pathways. 

One of our Year 11 VET students; Nicholas (Nic) Wells has been undertaking year two in Certificate II in Engineering at Ringwood Training.  Nic has provided a reflection on a year-long unit: ‘Undertake a Basic Engineering Project’ that he has completed.  

My primary objective for my 2023 VET engineering task was to create a detailed replica of the Gods weapon, Mjolnir as seen in the popular Marvel movies and famous comic books.   

My goal was to capture as many of the details in the prop, ensuring that the final product embodied the true power of the hammer.  By referring to the comics and the movies, I was committed to producing a strong representation of the iconic item.  To make this a reality I considered types of materials and techniques to incorporate the signature enchanting inscriptions and iconic leather handle.  I constructed a custom Mjolnir stand created with the help of 3d printing technologies.  The stand not only serves as a support but also as a display piece.  Finally, I incorporated a ‘Lazy Susan’ which allowed Mjolnir to swivel and be the location of my bearing for this project.  

Nick Wells  

Year 2, Certificate II in Engineering  

Congratulations to completing VET Students:  

Thirty-five students completed their VET Delivered in Secondary School (VDSS) Programs in 2023.  Students can commence VET studies from year ten and classes are generally held on a Wednesday afternoon.  Courses are delivered off-site at a range of TAFE institutes, RTO’s and secondary schools. Students can access VET certificates across a set of 12 pathways that reflect student's interests, areas of industry needs and jobs growth.  

Congratulations to the following students:  

Work Experience 

Congratulations to the following students who participated in the 2023 Work Experience Program .  They developed employability skills while gaining valuable insight into their industry and occupation of interest, as well as important self-knowledge to help them make decisions about their futures.    

Work Experience Reflection by Angelina Huett: 

Work Experience in the Australian Ballet's Production Wardrobe Department   

Year 11 student Angelina Huett applied and secured a place in the Australian Ballet Centre Work Experience program. This program enabled Angelina to apply her learning from her Vocational Education and Training studies in Applied Fashion Design and Technology.   Angelina has shared her experience of participating in the program:  

On the first morning at the Australian Ballet Company, I was excited and nervous, however I quickly felt comfortable as everyone was friendly.  The first task I was assigned to in the Production wardrobe department was painting men's white ballet shoes a different shade of white so that they would match the tights more closely. Working in the shoe area was fascinating for the detail in making sure that each dancer had the right shoes for both their costume and their dancing.  

I was also given the opportunity to learn about many phases of the costume production process and be included in many stages of production. I completed many tasks for actual costumes that will be worn by the dancers, including repairing jewel details, adding 'floof' to a skirt, cutting fabric for the milliners and sewing up sleeves.  

It was an amazing week and completely confirmed for me that I want to work in costume production. If you're interested in work experience at The Australian Ballet, opportunities are advertised on their website here - https://australianballet.com.au/about-us/careers.   

Work Experience Reflection by Jessie Nagy-Spiroch: 

During my time at Capital Smart Blackburn, I got to experience all types of jobs required to be a panel beater, this included removing, repairing, and replacing damaged panels, as well as spray painting and repaired parts. Overall, I really enjoyed working at Capital Smart for the week as everyone was so friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend any year 10 students next year or in years ahead who are interested in learning about panel beating to consider doing work experience there.  

Jessie had spent a day in the paint shop to fine tune his skills in colour matching before heading into the spray booth to spray a car panel.   

 Box Hill High School would like to extend the Work Experience Program in 2024 with the view of all Year 10 students obtaining a WE placement. If you have a business or company (or know someone that does) that can assist in hosting a student and sharing valuable industry exposure and skills, we would like to hear from you!  

Please get in contact with us via email and we can arrange a time to chat all things work experience!  workexperience@boxhillhs.vic.edu.au  

VCE Vocational Major 

Box Hill High School implemented the VCE Vocational Major in 2023 and have been thrilled to deliver an alternative VCE program to ten Year 11 students in 2023. The program is growing next year with twelve Year 11 students enrolled in the program as well as the continuing ten Year 12 students.  

Structured Workplace Learning. 

Throughout the year the VCE Vocational Major students have all participated in Structured Workplace Learning, a valuable placement enhancing their learning through practical skills in the workplace.  SWL is slightly different to work experience as it must align with the students VET studies and students attend for a period up to 20 days (one day per week). Students are able to put practical skills learnt at VET and in the classroom into practise, they are not expected to be experts in their industry; observing skills and workplace practises, developing soft skills and understanding the workplace are important aspects of SWL.   

Students have been able to experience the work environment in their chosen industry, including automotive, carpentry, electrotechnology, fitness, childcare, event management and engineering.  We have been fortunate to have many businesses and industry experts host our students and engage them in meaningful placements that aligns with their VET studies, putting theory into practice.    

We would like to thank our 2023 SWL employers for hosting students and taking the time to teach them valuable industry skills:   

  Lazcon Pty,Ltd.  Action Indoor Sports, Ringwood. Vernside Pty,Ltd. Feel Good Events. Mick Hone Motorcycles. Yarra Trams. Choklits Childcare. Bounce, Blackburn. Guardian Childcare. Your Gym, Surrey Hills. Vision Corporate. Tori Allen Events. Allan Engineering. REAZ. Dwyer Electrical. Walltech Electrical. S Myers Construction. Quick Oil, Box Hill. Tinternvale Primary School.  

If you have a business or company and would like to support our VCE VM students with SWL in the future, we would love to hear from you! - please contact Fiona Fuller for further information. 

The Careers Team would like to wish the Box Hill High School community a safe and happy Christmas and we look forward to another busy year ahead, supporting students in 2024.