Pathways 

VSC Careers Expo 26

The 2026 Careers Expo was once again very well received by students, parents, staff and exhibitors alike.  There was a palpable buzz of excitement in period 3 with the Year 10 students flowing through the expo with their relative English or Maths groups interacting with exhibitors, asking specific questions, collecting information and course prospectus then moving through to the Subject Expo held concurrently in the L classrooms adjoining the auditorium.  

The 2026 tertiary exhibitors were: ACU, Box Hill Institute, Deakin Uni, Deakin College, Holmesglen Institute, La Trobe Uni, Monash Uni, RMIT Uni, Swinburne Uni and Victoria University.  Community stakeholders:  Carlton College of Sport, Richmond Institute (Sport), St Kilda Institute (Sport), Head Start – School Based Apprenticeship group, Busy at Work Apprenticeship Group, CHESS – Centre for Higher Education Studies, Southern Cross Cultural Exchange and our fabulous alumni representatives from Victoria Police.  I am very grateful for your continued support of our students. 

This event has been many months in the planning so it is always amazing to see it come to life and be so well received by the VSC community.  I am very grateful for the support and assistance of Darren, Josh, Paul, Peter with the set up and much gratitude to my colleague Jen Fagarasan for assisting and supporting me in the setup, hospitality and the smooth delivery of the event then pack up on the day. Also a huge thank you to the VSC canteen fo the delicious snack boxes.

Gateway LLEN Reimagining Work Experience‘Reimagining Work Experience' is a series of innovative, industry-based career immersion activities that are viable alternatives to the traditional work experience programs in partnership with the Gateway LLEN our Learn Local and Employment Network for Year 10 students.VSC students have been experiencing one day placements in: Animal care, Hospitality, Building and Construction, Renewable Energy, Hair and Beauty, Sport and Recreation, Green Infrastructure, Transport & Logistics and Community Service.

Tertiary School Holidays Programs/Experience Day Workshops

Monash University are offering experience day workshops in: Fine Art Folio Building, Design, and Architecture making workshop Experience day workshops - Art, Design and ArchitectureRMIT University are offering some tech and trades courses experiencing in what it’s like to get hands on in an RMIT workshop featuring the tools and facilities students use. Tech & Trades Experience Day - RMIT University Swinburne University offers a range of programs and activities and opportunities for all different year levels and interest School programs for secondary students | Swinburne

Career Tools

Work Experience

Work experience participation is optional at VSC, however we strongly encourage all students aged 15yrs+ to get involved in this very beneficial and rewarding program. Students can undertake Work Experience every year until they graduate VSC.

Work experience provides young people with a taste of the real world of work and a clearer understanding of a particular industry, field or business they may be interested in pursuing in the future.  It assists in career discovery and exploration, goal setting and decision making whilst preparing students for VCE or VCE VM (Vocational Major), future tertiary studies, apprenticeship/traineeships or full-time work.

There are no designated time frames for students to complete placements as we believe a flexible delivery arrangement provides students with a better opportunity to meet the availability and operational time frames of businesses and industries within the community.  This also means we are not competing with other local schools which can limit student’s placement opportunities. 

Placement dates are arranged through consultation and negotiation between the employer, school and student to maximise the experience.  However, if your young person is not going on the Central Australia to Darwin trip, they may want to consider the last week of Term 3 as the perfect opportunity to undertake work experience.

Drop into Pathways to discuss further and collect the ‘Preparing for the Workplace’ pack. 

Pathways Website – www.vscpathways.com

Did you know VSC has its own careers website?  It’s a ‘One Stop Shop’ for everything you need to assist with Career planning, research, information and help, available 24 hours a day.  Please see attached the Term 1 Career Tools Newsletter with lots of informative reading. To access the website please click on the link vscpathways.com or go to the VSC website and click on the Pathways tab. 

Features:

• Latest news and events

• Senior school options

• Work experience and OH&S in the workplace

• VET – Vocational Education and Training

• University Admissions requirements through VTAC

• Find what careers suits you & course discovery

• Interactive Career bullseyes

• Gap Year

• Resume creation & finding a job

• Youth allowance and money matters

• Informative career videos

• Plus lots, lots more to help individual career development

What is Career Development?

Career Development is the lifelong process of managing life, learning and work (paid and unpaid) over our lifespan.  The ability to make informed decisions, manage and transition through change for a personally determined future.

Young people build their career development through self-awareness; understanding how they make decisions and how these decisions impact future aspirations through exploration, identifying interests, values and preferred learning styles through careers exploration activities such as Morrisby in Year 9 and Careers Tools in Year 10.  The ability to research a wide range of career options helping them to select subjects they may enjoy learning whilst aligning to tertiary course pre-requisite requirements in the future or apprenticeship/traineeship requirements and work. 

Career development is further enhanced by juggling the expectations and requirements of school with extra-curricular activities like sport and family responsibilities, part-time work, community involvement and social interests. 

To further assist your Career Development please visit vscpathways.com an easy-to-use interface with links to a multitude of career resources for both Students and Parents.  We encourage all VSC students and their families to explore the Pathways website to assist in making positively informed decisions about their future.