Rebecca Ambrose

Careers Counsellor | Teacher

Work Experience is fast approaching for our Year 10 students (Monday to Thursday 29th March to 1st April). Students and families will be receiving the employer information in Week 8 Tuesday during SEL. After receiving the paperwork, students are to contact their employer and meet with them prior to attending the work experience ‘week’ to get signatures and find out about requirements. All signed paperwork is to be submitted to the school by Wednesday 24th March. We appreciate the work experience program can be a challenging time for families in terms of transportation, different schedules etc and we thank you in advance for supporting your child in this week. Work Experience is a memorable part of schooling for students and helps in making decisions about future pathways.

It is good to meet with Year 12 students to discuss future pathways. There are a number of “early entry” university programs opening in the near future and I will be sending out information to students as it is received (ie JCU Early Offer - nominations open 17th May & CQU’s Principal Recommendation Scheme is now open).

Myfuture - webinar

Supporting your child’s career development: tips and tools from myfuture webinar - Wednesday 24th March 2021, 1–2 pm AEDT Register now

The earliest and often the most powerful learning about careers is shaped by the adults in a child's life. myfuture, the National Career Information Service, has tools and resources available to help parents guide and support their child as they explore career options and occupations of interest. In this webinar Michelle Maes, Careers Manager, will demonstrate the career development resources that are freely available on the myfuture website to assist the career development process. Register now if interested.

Why work experience?

The best way to explore a job you are interested in is to try it. This sounds obvious, doesn’t it? However, it is often the last thing people think of when exploring jobs and making career decisions. The following are ways you can try a job.

Work observation/shadowing - spend one or two days with someone already in the job
Work experience – spend up to a week working in the job
Volunteering – volunteer your services to an organisation that has jobs you are interested in
Part-time paid work – explore the possibility of part-time or casual work in your preferred career area
Join an activity group where you can try out some of the skills you will need in the job you like e.g. join the Air Force Cadets or the St John Ambulance Cadets
Participating in various programs associated with specific career areas e.g. Engineering Link projects

The benefits of trying a job are:

Learning about what the job involves
Having a structured, supervised, hands-on experience
Experiencing a work environment – the world of work isn’t like school!
Gaining a new referee to add to your resume
Developing contacts that may help you gain employment in the future.

Our VET Coordinator Justin Brennan, Trade Training Centre Director Breck Nielsen or I can help you organise work experience. Read ‘Tips for finding work experience’ on the myfuture website for other ways of finding work experience.

Aptitude quizzes for Apprentices and Trainees

Australian Apprenticeships Pathways website has literacy and numeracy quizzes for a range of careers. These general industry based quizzes indicate the levels required when undertaking Australian Apprenticeships qualifications. The quizzes give you an idea about the aptitudes needed for the jobs in the industries listed. Click here to find sample quizzes for the following industry areas:

Automotive and Boating
Building and Construction
Business, Clerical and Financial Services
Electrical, Electronics and Utilities
Food and Wine Processing
Gardening, Farming, Animals and Environment
Health, Care and Community Services
Hospitality, Travel and Tourism
Information Technology and Telecommunications
Manufacturing and Production
Metal and Engineering
Property Maintenance and Management
Resource Mining and Processing
Retail, Sales Marketing and Customer Service
Sport, Recreation, Hair, Beauty and Services
Transport, Logistics and Warehousing
General and non-industry based

Within each industry area there is a quiz relevant to each of the apprenticeships or traineeships.

Free app for apprenticeships and traineeships

AusAppPathways is a free app that helps students and jobseekers explore Australian Apprenticeship career pathway ideas on their smartphone or tablet. Users can:

Filter by State and Territory
Get tips on how to find a job
Explore information and resources to help find career ideas of interest
Begin career discussions with family, friends and career advisors

Job Pathways Charts for VET pathways

The Australian Apprenticeships Pathways webpage contains Job Pathways Charts which show the potential training pathways within specific industries. Click here to read about 48 industry area training pathways' options.

Research Industries

There are around 50 industries you can do an apprenticeship or traineeship in. The Australian Apprenticeships Pathways Research Industries pages will help you learn more about the industries you are interested in, including:

the size of the industry
whether apprenticeships and traineeships are common
some tips on how to get a job in that area.

Start your research here.

Australian Defence Force Information Sessions

Stay informed about upcoming Queensland and National ADF events and information sessions by visiting the Defence Jobs website. View the specific events information link for more details including location, times and to book your tickets. Further information about these events and Army Reserve Information Sessions can be accessed on the ADF Facebook site.

Interested in a career in the Air Force? Think about joining the Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC)

The Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC) is a youth oriented organisation that is administered and actively supported by the Royal Australian Air Force. You can join the AAFC if you are between the ages of 13 and 18 years and are physically fit enough to participate in the activities. You will gain important life skills in leadership, self-reliance, self-confidence, self-discipline, self-respect, good communication, teamwork and citizenship. Some activities undertaken by the AAFC include flying, fieldcraft, adventure training, firearms safety training, drill and ceremonial, service knowledge, aeromodelling, navigation and gliding. You will also have an opportunity to experience life in the Air Force. For more information, visit the AAFC website where you can access information regarding:

Thinking of applying to the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA)

If you are in Year 11 and considering applying for a place at ADFA, you are encouraged to commence your application when you turn 16 years of age. To start your application, call 13 19 01 or apply online on the Defence Jobs website (click ‘Apply now’ on the very top right-hand corner of the home page). It is not too late for Year 12 students to apply but you need to start your application as soon as possible.

Starting to sort out your thoughts in Year 10

Year 10 is when the pressure comes to start thinking of yourself as an individual. It's when you should be starting to sort through your thoughts and dreams for your future. Are you thinking, "I have no idea what I want to do! I haven’t yet found anything I am particularly good at". If this sounds familiar, or even if you think you know exactly what you want to do, have a read of Susanne Gannon's article from The Conversation. She explains that you don't need to know 'right now' what you want to do but you should be finding out about what jobs are out there. She talks about:

It's important to be flexible
Learning your interests takes time
There are many pathways open to you
Work experience is a good way to develop skills

State and Australian Government work experience opportunities

You can find information about Queensland and Australian Government work experience opportunities online through websites like:

The Australian Government Services Australia
Australia.gov.au - for cadetships, scholarships and work experience opportunities
Myfuture - offers work experience links
Queensland Government – information regarding work experience, finding opportunities, benefits

Do your own online search and see what work experience opportunities may be offered in your local area. Graduates can also look for opportunities to work within the Queensland Government through the Queensland Government Graduate Portal.

Introduction to myfuture webinar

Join the myfuture team and learn how the myfuture website can be used in your career and transition planning and how to locate the resources most relevant to you on the new-look website. Find out more and register here.

10 tips to help you build a successful creative career

You know it's what you want to do. All the doubters are ready to shoot your ideas down. But you're creative to the core and ready to do everything that it takes to build a career and work on the thing you love most. Lots of people give up on their dreams. So how do you develop a career that draws on creativity, talent, skill and passion? Pamela Ledley has a few tips to get you started. Click here to read about:

Where are you heading?
Inspiration
Information
What's in demand?
You've gotta eat!
Internships and volunteering
Get some business skills – you'll need them!
Hear from people who are working as creatives
Unconventional and unafraid
Be the one
Last words – be real

Remember: What you do is not who you are.

Tim Herrera, wrote in the LIndsay at CareerWise Weekly that one of the best piece of career advice he's ever received was to think of jobs as verbs, rather than nouns. So, for example: I do journalism, rather than I’m a journalist. Or: I do youth education, rather than I’m a teacher. Yes, it feels like a silly, arbitrary little word swap, and you’d never actually say that at a party. (Imagine how weird you’d come off telling someone, “I cut people open,” rather than, “I’m a surgeon.”) But it is a mental shift that can help to disentangle who you are as a person from how you spend your days to make money for rent and groceries. Read the rest of Tim's article here.

Thinking about a STEM careers but not sure what's out there?

The Careers with STEM hub includes a quarterly magazine, posters, videos, events, webinars, teacher PD, quizzes and website to help you discover the careers of the future. Each year they publish four magazines across each of the STEM disciplines plus special editions like Data Science and Cybersecurity. Visit their website for more information on: What's trending in STEM; Latest Quizzes; Women in STEM; STEM education; Latest videos

Finding your way in a changing world of work

Australian jobs are changing as new technologies are introduced, businesses find new ways of working and as we respond to challenges like COVID-19. This will lead to new jobs being created and new skills may be needed for existing jobs. How can you find your way in a changing world of work? When you’re thinking about work and study options, it can be helpful to understand:

the jobs available now and in the future
the skills needed for jobs that interest you
your interests and how you like to work.

In fact, more than one million Australians change jobs every year and more than half move to a different industry or career. Click here to read more about jobs now and in the future, finding jobs that use your skills and finding work you enjoy.

Industry profile - Information media and telecommunications

The information media and telecommunications industry covers a wide variety of activities within both the public and private sectors. These activities range from newspaper, book and software publishing to motion picture production and distribution, sound recording and music publishing, to internet publishing, broadcasting and service provision and library and related information services. The following sectors of the information media and telecommunications industry offer employment opportunities:

Broadcasting, Publishing
Internet publishing and broadcasting
Internet service providers, web search portals and data processing services
Library and other information services
Motion picture and sound recording activities
Telecommunications services

Click here to find out more about: Prospects, Weekly earnings; Average weekly hours; Full-time employment; Employment outlook; Share of employment by gender; Top 20 occultations in information media and telecommunications.

Queensland industry job trends and statistics

The Queensland Government provides current industry and labour market trends and identifies national skills shortages in Queensland. Shortages exist because employers can't fill vacancies. This may be because the job requires specialist skills, the location is difficult, or the industry is booming. Shortages in a particular industry can mean job opportunities. You can read about national skills shortages and/or occupation shortage by state.

Top 10 Examples of How Technology Changed the Event Industry in 2020

The role of technology in the events industry has undoubtedly expanded more in 2020 than at any other time in history. According to one recent study, two in three Australians now say they attend six or more digital events a month, including webinars, company meetings, workshops, briefings, conferences and customer meetings. This is clearly resulting from COVID-19, but it’s also tied in with existing trends. Millennials are fast becoming the biggest segment of the global workforce and mobile technologies are increasingly integrated into their lives. Click here to read more from Associate Professor Justin Pierce from Torrens Uni about how technology has assisted in managing the impact of COVID on the event industry.

Any student is in the running for a scholarship if they know where to look!

Year 12 is a student’s best opportunity for scholarships. There will never be another time in your life where there are more opportunities and less competition. Janet MacDonald (mycampusGPS) offers advice to help students take advantage of this golden opportunity to get free money for post-secondary study. Start now by reading about her ideas on how best to find a scholarship. DON"T leave it till the second half of Year 12 either!

QUT Tertiary Access Payment for 2020 school leavers

The Tertiary Access Payment is a scholarship provided by the Federal Government to assist students who completed Year 12 in 2020, with the cost of relocating from an outer regional or remote area for tertiary study. Approved applicants will receive a total of $5,000 paid in two instalments. Find out more information on the QUT Tertiary Access Payment website.

10 Gap Year benefits

So you may still find yourself asking, “why should I take a gap year after high school?” There are many reasons why a gap year can be beneficial, not least that by choosing to take a gap year, you can expand your world and learn more about yourself, your interests and develop more life and work skills. Global Citizen has set out 10 of the many benefits you can gain through taking a gap year'. A gap year isn't for everyone but do some research so that you make an informed decision. Talk with your parents and others who have taken a gap year and always keep in mind COVID-19 travel restrictions in Australia and internationally.

Gap years – Make them Meaningful with a Purpose

Taking a year off after Year 12 will not necessarily assist you if you are unsure of your career path. Without a plan, a year out of formal education can see you waste your time 'having a good time'. Alternatively, a formal gap year is known to offer many significant benefits. In a formal gap year you would take on structured activities such as paid-work, volunteering and other forms of self-development related to possible future career options. This type of gap year enables you to try out a range of activities that can assist you in your career decision making. According to research, students who have a purposeful gap year are less likely to drop out of further study pathways. consider and plan carefully!

Short course study option for your gap year experience

Some people know that they want to study, but they’re not too sure what exactly it is they’re passionate about. If this is you, then consider a short course. Find something that interests you, then get a taste for it without committing the time and money required for a full degree.

The QLD Government has been offering certain “Fee Free” TAFE courses to year 12 leavers within the first 12 months of leaving school. This could be an option for some who are not quite ready to go to university. Most of the course offerings are Certificate III level. The list of “free” courses comes out at the end of the year. There are many other initiatives in the TAFE sector for Year 12 leavers too such as the Queensland Government, Certificate 3 Guarantee program. The Certificate 3 Guarantee supports eligible individuals to complete their first post-school Certificate III level qualification and increase their skills to move into employment, re-enter the workforce or advance their career. The program also supports school students to access training and Queensland’s Year 12 graduates to transition to employment by providing fee-free training in high priority qualifications. For an overview of what the Certificate 3 Guarantee means for students, view the Certificate 3 Guarantee student fact sheet.

Australian Jobs 2020

The Australian Jobs 2020 publication provides an overview of trends in the Australian labour market to support job seekers and employment service providers, career advisers, those considering future training and work and people interested in labour market issues. It is designed to step you through all aspects of the labour market. The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impact on the labour market and there is now more competition for jobs. It is more important than ever to understand what employers are looking for and understanding the labour market that you are moving into. The first three sections are an overview of Australia’s diverse labour market, providing analysis and outlining opportunities across industries, occupations and locations. Click here to access Australian Jobs 2020.

Assessment basics

One of the main changes to the QCE system in recent years is to the way students are assessed in QCAA subjects. For most students, the bulk of their assessment in General and Applied subjects will be internal assessment. Students undertaking General subjects will also sit external assessment (usually in Year 12). Click here for a typical rundown of assessment across Year 11 and 12 so you know what to expect. Some schools implement QCAA syllabuses in a different pattern. More information about assessment is available in each subject syllabus on the QCAA website.

myQCE gateway for students and parents

myQCE will help you plan your pathway to achieving a QCE by the end of Year 12 and help you to explore further study, training and career options. Year 12 students must register through Student Protal Learning Account in order to access thier Year 12 results. It provides information on:

About the QCE - Learn about Queensland's senior schooling qualification
QCE planner– An online guide to help you plan your QCE pathway
Accessing certificates and statements – Find out where you can download your Senior Statement and QCE
Student portal login help - Get help to access the Student Portal
QCE student stories - Find inspiration from previous students
myQCE update - Read the latest issue of myQCE update
Career goals - Links to help you explore future study and career options
2020 results FAQs - Information about accessing and understanding your results
Coronavirus updates - FAQs for students and parents
Assessment basics - Information to help you understand assessment

3 ways students can get the most from searching online

Don’t ‘just Google it’! The Conversation published an article on tips to effectively search the internet. Most students think they know how to use the internet to search for information. But this isn't always the case. Searching online has many educational benefits. One study found students who used advanced online search strategies also had higher grades at university. But spending more time online does not guarantee better online skills. Instead, a student’s ability to successfully search online increases with guidance and explicit instruction . Click here to read about the three tips to assist you in your internet searching:

Search more than just isolated facts
Slow down
You're in charge of the search - not Google

Are you a parent of a senior student?

Generation Next has an article on How parents can help students in the senior years of school written by Andrew Fuller. The article states that parents have a vital role in helping students to:

Manage time
Manage energy
Manage stress
Manage to get everything in at the right time and in the right place.

This sounds like a big ask! However, the body of the article does suggest strategies to help parents achieve their role. Topics include:

Developing a system – time management planning
Dealing with meltdowns and catastrophic thinking
What to do when the system breaks down or when your child won’t listen to you
How to deal with the build up to exams.

Finally, the article makes the point that Year 12 results aren’t the end of the world. They don’t determine a student’s future success in life. Parents with a student in Year 11 or 12 may find this article of interest.

How to improve your concentration

Concentration is the ability to focus and control your attention. Some people seem to be born with it, the rest of us have to learn how to do it. The good news is that anyone can improve his/her ability to concentrate. The following are strategies to help you get there.

Make sure you get plenty of sleep. It is difficult to concentrate when you are tired. Regular exercise and healthy eating are also important.
Set realistic and specific study goals for yourself (e.g. I will go up one grade in English next exam)
Develop regular habits of study – same desk, same time, etc
Work in a place that is free of distractions (in front of the TV is probably not the best place!). De-cluttering your desk will help too
When you sit down to study, make a plan of what you want to achieve that session and cross off items as you complete them
If you find yourself distracted by something else (e.g. I feel fat; I should do more exercise), jot down the task, idea or problem to deal with later
Begin working immediately – don’t wait for inspiration
Attend to one thing at a time
When you start to lose focus, get up and take a walk

Take care of yourself

Your brain and body are closely connected – looking after your body has great benefits for your mind. Activities like sport, dance, walking or yoga can increase your performance by increasing oxygen to your brain. It’s also great at reducing tension from stress and school pressure.

Some stress can be useful in keeping us motivated – without it we would find it hard to stay awake! However, during Year 12, and especially during exam time, you may find your stress levels rising high into the ‘critical zone’, causing a dramatic decline in performance. Proven strategies for beating stress include:

Relaxation: smartphone apps like Smiling Mind can help
Time management: try making a list of activities and prioritise
Connecting with others: talk about your worries, laugh, be positive!
Remember to be kind to yourself: take some time out to do the things you enjoy or help you maintain your wellbeing

Click here for more ideas on how to look after yourself.

Celebrating Achievement