Clontarf Academy

Melbourne Employment Forum

In Week 9, we took a group of Year 10 and 11 boys to Melbourne for the Clontarf Regional Employment Forum. Employment is the end goal for us in the Academy and we take any opportunity for our boys to get exposure to industry. 

Our Regional Employment Forum was a great way for our boys from academies across Victoria to meet and learn from our partners. Over 20 Clontarf partners attended and conducted interviews with our boys at the Officeworks Headquarters at Chadstone. From Civil Construction, Aviation, Automotive, Engineering, Retail and everything in between was covered giving the boys great exposure to what is out there and how to start a career in a chosen field.

While in Melbourne we also had the opportunity to do a tour through HMAS Cerberus where the boys saw first-hand what goes into training to become a sailor for the Australian Navy. There were some amazing facilities for scenario training which was a highlight as well as the lunch provided in the Junior mess hall.

It’s always great for our boys to connect to past St Pat's students and on the way home on Friday we popped into the Victorian Institute of Sport to do a tour with Jamie McPherson. It was a great tour for the boys as they learnt about the role the VIS has had in many successful athletes careers.

While in Melbourne the boys also enjoyed some Go Karting at the LeMans track and took part in a State of Origin training session at the St Kilda footy club with the boys from Warrnambool, Mildura, Robinvale, Swan Hill and Bairnsdale academies. It’s always great for our boys to spend time with their peers from academies across Victoria and the friendships that are forming as a result can only be a good thing. With the Clontarf State of Origin Carnival coming up in November, the importance of the boys building connection at our regional events cannot be understated.