Careers
Work Experience: Thursday 11th to Tuesday 16th June
Students who have not been successful in securing a work experience placement will attend the College Work Experience Program at the Clyde North and Cranbourne campuses on 11 and 12 June.
Families of students required to attend the College program will receive a Consent to Go form next week.
Futures Expo – Tuesday 28th July – 3.00 pm – 5.00 pm
Families: please note your workshop time to ensure you have all the necessary information about 2027 Subject Selection and Options. These workshops will be held at both the Clyde North (Geode Centre) and Cranbourne (Donnelly Building).
3.30 pm – Current Year 8’s – the 2027 Year 9 Curriculum Options
4.00 pm – Current Year 9’s – the 2027 Year 10 Curriculum Options
4.30 pm – Current Year 10’s and 11’s – the 2027 VCE / VCE VM and VET Options
To showcase the new Clyde North Campus VCE building the Tertiary Providers Expo will be held ONLY at the Clyde North Campus from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm.
Mid Year School Holiday Programs: These events are highly recommended for students to attend so they can make an informed decision about their future course and career options. These events are advertised to students via email and the SPACE platform. Click here for a current list of mid year School Holiday Programs
Chisholm Institute Info Day – Berwick Campus
Date: Wednesday, 10 June 2026Time: 3:00pm – 5:30pmRegister here: https://events.humanitix.com/chisholm-info-day-berwick-2026
An Info Day provides an opportunity for students and their parents/guardians to come on campus and explore Chisholm pathways. They will be able to:
Speak directly with teaching staff and course specialists
Ask questions about courses, entry requirements, and support services
Explore study areas and facilities with course experts
Discuss pathways and career outcomes
Attending an Info Day is one of the best ways for students to gain insights into study options, and make informed decisions about their future.
Click here for a full list of 2026 Open Day dates across Victoria
Work Experience & Apprenticeships at Velocity Trucks
Velocity Truck Centres have work experience and apprenticeship opportunities in locations across NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, and WA!
Spend a week working alongside an experienced technician at a Velocity Truck Centres dealership. You’ll gain experience servicing and repairing Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, and Fuso trucks.
All Velocity work experience will have the opportunity to interview for the 2026 Apprenticeship intake. Submit an Expression of Interest and a member of the team will contact you.
Emergency service and cadet youth programs explained
Thousands of young people are curious about career in the Emergency services, but most don't realise you can start gaining real experience right now, while you're still at school. Emergency service youth programs and cadet programs exist exactly for that reason. They're structured, supervised, and open to high school students in Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries around the world.
What are these programs?
Emergency service youth programs are run by organisations like the fire brigade, police, State Emergency Service (SES), and ambulance services. They give young people a look inside how these services operate, and they teach practical skills along the way. Things like first aid, navigation, communication under pressure, and working as part of a team.
Cadet programs are slightly different. They're often a bit more formalised, and often run weekly or fortnightly. Military cadet programs such as the Australian Air Force Cadets, Australian Army Cadets, and Australian Navy Cadets are some of the most well-known. Joining these programs doesn't commit you to joining the military, and the vast majority of cadets never do. It's more about learning discipline, leadership, and practical skills in a structured environment.
There are also police cadets, fire cadets (sometimes called junior firefighters), and St John Ambulance youth programs, all designed to give young people hands-on experience in public safety roles.
What do they actually involve?
It varies by program, but most involve regular meetings or training sessions after school or on weekends. You might practise navigation and outdoor survival, learn how to use communications equipment, take part in first aid training, or go on excursions related to the service. Military cadets often include camps, flying experience, leadership courses, and even overseas exchanges.
Most programs are free or very low cost to join. You'll usually need your parent or guardian's permission to participate, and some have a minimum age, often 12 to 13, which you'll need to check out before applying.
Finding programs in Australia and New Zealand
In Australia, each state and territory runs its own version of many of these programs, so availability depends on where you live. A good starting point is to search directly on the websites of emergency services or defence organisations in your area.
In New Zealand, similar programs exist through the New Zealand Cadet Forces, which include army, navy, and air training corps. St John New Zealand also runs youth programs for young people from age 8 through to 18, so there's a long runway to build skills.
The best approach is to check the national websites and then look for units or groups in your local area. Most programs have a unit locator tool or a contact form you can use to ask about joining.
What about the UK, Ireland, and beyond?
These programs are global. In the UK, the Combined Cadet Force and their Cadet Expansion Programme operate through schools, while the Air Training Corps, Army Cadet Force, and Sea Cadet Corps all run separately from schools. St John Ambulance also has a strong youth arm in the UK. In Ireland, the FCA Youth (Óglaigh na hÉireann) and St John's Ambulance offer youth engagement pathways.
Beyond these countries, similar programs exist across Canada, the United States, Singapore, South Africa, and many others. If you're not in Australia or New Zealand, searching your country's defence or emergency services websites is the quickest way to find what's available near you.
Why bother getting involved?
These programs also look great on your CV and university applications, but that's not really the point. The bigger benefit is what you actually learn and experience.
You develop skills that are hard to pick up anywhere else, like staying calm in stressful situations, following and giving instructions clearly, making decisions quickly when the stakes feel real. These are skills that employers across every industry value, not just in emergency services.
You also get a realistic look at careers you might be interested in. If you're thinking about becoming a paramedic, police officer, pilot, or engineer, spending time inside a related program will tell you a lot more than researching it online. Some people discover they love it. Others figure out it's not for them, and that's a useful thing to know early.
Beyond skills and career exploration, many young people find a genuine sense of community in these programs. You meet people your own age who are motivated and interested in similar things, and the connections you make can last well beyond the program itself.
Ready to take the next step?
The first thing to do is find a program near you and reach out to express your interest. Most programs are welcoming to new members and will explain everything you need to know at an information session before you commit to anything.
If you're not sure where to start, explore our volunteering and work experience pages, there's plenty of information to help you start figuring out what could be the the right pathway for you.
The impact of AI on Engineering
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