Careers Corner

Year 10 Work Experience

This week has been a huge week for our Year 10 students with over 100 students completing work experience placements across a variety of different industries and workplaces around Melbourne. Several of our GEC staff have been travelling around Melbourne this week to visit our students on their placements, it has been a great experience to see the students interacting and working in a professional environment and gaining confidence outside of the classrooms.

Thank you so much to those parents, guardians, friends, and our local community who have opened their doors and offered to take on our students in their workplaces. After the last couple of years of lockdowns and students missing out on the opportunity to gain work experience and learn more about different careers, it has been so valuable to see our current Year 10 students engaging in these opportunities.

A couple of students have shared a small insight into their work experience placements, as well as many great photos that our GEC staff were able to capture of the students on their visits.

Chloe Harris – Year 10

During work experience I learnt a lot about not only Toyota and how they work but also got a feel for working at a corporate job. I enjoyed the range of tasks that I had a chance to perform, such as desktop research, admin tasks and seeing how other team members fulfil requests from different groups. I especially enjoyed the tours of the buildings as they have a range of specialised areas in the development and testing of cars. Meeting new people in this field was also an amazing experience and learning about the path they took after high school and previous positions to secure a job at Toyota. 

Natalie Duieb – Year 10

During my time at HMF I’ve been able to experience work both on site and in the office. The balance of being able to do activities outside (surveying the land) as well as going into the office and seeing what they are able to develop and create with the information from the land sites was fascinating and heaps of fun! Majority of the staff said that they enjoyed the balance between going on site and staying in the office. I really enjoyed being able to see how all the stages come together to produce a final product. Due to my interest in Architecture, by getting an insight into how Land Surveying works and how Architecture can be linked into Land Surveying, I believe it will set me up for my future and my career insight. By gaining information through HMF, it’s helped expand my knowledge on Land Surveying and helped me see the different aspects within the field. I really enjoyed working with the technology that they use within the Autodesk programs, like; AutoCAD and Civil 3D. It gave me the opportunity to learn how the industry uses these technologies to run different tasks according to their job, whether they are part of the management team, construction team, drafting team or land surveying team, it’s interesting to see how they use these applications to create the end result. I enjoyed being able to view the point cloud and understand how they captured the information through laser-scanning on site, I also enjoyed being able to see a drone flight and how it measured the area specific to the drafting and plans. Seeing the staff use the information on site collected from the specific surveying equipment, and gaining a 3D view through this technology, then using it for elevations and floor plans was intriguing. The staff were very experienced, engaging, kind, friendly and helpful, and were able to answer any questions I had regarding any topic throughout the Land Surveying field. It was a very collaborative workplace and gave me an idea of what it’s like to work in a proper work environment. Overall a positive experience that I would definitely recommend for anyone thinking about work experience!

Year 12

I am available for any Year 12 students all through the exam period, or even after VCE results and ATAR have been released to help support them with change of preferences, university options, resumes, applying for apprenticeships/traineeships etc. All the VTAC offer dates, change of preference period dates are listed below.

Careers in Focus

Interior Designer

Average weekly salary: $1,155

Education/Training: Either a Diploma qualification in Interior Design or a Bachelor in Interior Design, Design or Interior Architecture

Subject prerequisite/assumed knowledge: Assumed knowledge in English and Mathematics and skills/interest in design

Interior designers design and supervise the construction or development of building interiors. They can work on a wide range of projects, including residential, commercial, retail, hospitality and institutional developments such as schools, hospitals, stage and film and television

Tasks include: 

• Speak to clients and architects to determine clients’ needs and intentions
• Develop designs that are appropriate, functional, and aesthetically pleasing
• Prepare working drawings and specifications for interior construction, materials, finishes, space planning, lighting, furnishing and equipment
• Estimate costs of materials, labour, time and give estimates to clients for approval
• Organise supplies and prepare detailed instructions for tradespeople
• Inspect the work of suppliers and tradespeople, and maintain time, cost, and quality controls

Personal attributes: 

• Creative and artistic flair
• Good at problem solving and lateral thinking
• Able to work independently or as part of a team
• Good communication skills
• Aptitude for technical drawing and illustration

Related Careers: 

Interior Decorator, Architectural Draftsperson, Visual Merchandiser, Set Designer

Resources: Good Careers Guide 

Heather Palm

Careers & Pathways Coordinator