Resources
Senior Secondary Pathways Reform
The attached flyer outlines what you need to know about changes to Victoria’s senior secondary school certificates.
VCAA Where to Now Guide
Target audience for this guide is Year 10 students and their families/guardian.
Where to Now? 2023: Guide to senior secondary school pathways in Victoria is a useful careers counselling resource for Year 10 students and their parents and guardians on senior secondary options.
The guide contains information about:
- the VCE
- the VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM), which replaces Intermediate and Senior VCAL
- the Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC). which replaces Foundation VCAL
- how VET integrates with the VCE, VCE VM and VPC
We would encourage our Year 10s to use this in conjunction with the MSCW Course Guide and the recent Senior Options Traffic Light Worksheet.
AATIS – Apprenticeship Readiness Quiz
AATIS is excited to launch a new tool for students and job hunters: The Apprenticeship Readiness Quiz. The Apprenticeship Readiness Quiz has been developed to support students and job hunters to help determine whether an Australian Apprenticeship is a suitable career pathway. They are having a launch webinar – see Activities, Competition and Events Section for details.
AATIS Blog
The AATIS blog has some great info https://www.aapathways.com.au/aatis-blog
Notable mentions which include both written information and a podcast:
- “How do I become…” Which showcases an apprenticeship or traineeship pathway, recent ones have been bricklayer, hairdresser and butcher, all in demand roles!
- Digital Skills in the Australian Context Series
- The VET Cheat Sheet (attached)
- What is The Australian Apprenticeship Schools Guide?
- Parents, how can you help your children get a career?
AATIS – Employer Handbook
I know we also have some amazing local employers in our community and suspect some may be considering options for employing a trainee or apprentice, so you may like to check out the new Employer Handbook.
AATIS is excited to launch a newest resource, the Employer Handbook.The Employer Handbook has been developed to support employers and managers who are considering whether to enter the Australian Apprenticeships system. It can be used by service providers as an information resource for employers, with a customisable version available.During this webinar we showcased the Employer Handbook, and discussed the key content within it. We also demonstrated some of the other employer resources provided by AATIS.If you couldn't attend our recent webinar in which we highlighted our newest resource, The Employer Handbook, you're in luck!Simply click through to view the recording.
What are the highest paying jobs in Australia?
An article from Monarch Institute (based on ATO income info) sees the big commitment roles (in terms of education, responsibility, stress and working hours) in medical, commerce, legal and engineering come up trumps.
An insider’s perspective on what ‘a day in the life’ might look like across a variety of different workplaces. These 15-minute sessions are recordings from live-streamed webinars during which students had the opportunity to ask questions in the chat.
Job Jumpstart – Fresh new look and updated resources
Great for practical employment tips and information! It reiterates how vitally important it is to tailor your search, applications, documents and research. Check it out at www.jobjumpstart.gov.au/
Skillsroad – Get hands on with your future
This program has been developed by SkillsRoad and is for students who love hands-on learning. It includes some excellent resources for students to use to explore including real career stories, industry videos, VR workplaces, JobFit tests and a jobs board.
Free Career Resources from Arrive and Thrive
Included in this collection are:
- Helping your young person with Morrisby
- Values assessment
- Informational interviews
- Developing your pitch
- Career design principles
- Developing a LinkedIn Profile
VTAC – Online resources
VTAC online resources can also be accessed from the “A guide for…” tile on the VTAC homepage:
The VTAC Year 10 Guide assists students in choosing senior secondary studies for the right reason. It contains information about researching tertiary education, choosing senior secondary subjects, and how the ATAR is calculated.
ATAR rules and restrictions for current Year 10 students (i.e. those receiving an ATAR in two years’ time) will be available in the VTAC Guide to the ATAR and Scaling each year.
The VTAC Year 11 Guide provides information about researching tertiary education, choosing year 12 studies, and understanding the ATAR.
The VTAC Year 12 Guide provides information about researching tertiary courses, including meeting course requirements, and a guide through the stages of the VTAC application process, including applying for courses, SEAS, and Scholarships.
Printable guides
VTAC also have two highly informative sections:
- Planning – Before you apply: covers the benefits of tertiary education, course research tools and resources, questions you should ask, understanding the types of tertiary course, how to find eligibility and course requirements, researching prerequisites and selection requirements, preparing for interviews, auditions and folios, planning pathways, researching campus life, and researching the costs associated with tertiary education.
- Applying – How to apply: covers each step of the application and offer process.
Prerequisites 2024
The Prerequisites 2024 PDF is available to download from the Year 10 Guide and will shortly be available in the Prerequisite and Course Explorer tool.
Careers with STEM + X Guide and Careers with STEM Free job kits
This free 60-page magazine highlights a raft of exciting STEM + X education and career paths, featuring inspiring real-life STEM role models and mentors, plus loads of practical insights and advice to help you plan the ultimate STEM career.Search for careers in areas like – food & fitness, climate & conservation, maths, AI & data, tech & cyber, health & medical sciences, biohacking the future, space, engineering for equity, creating liveable spaces, design & creativity, business, law and teaching.
Explore of take the STEM + X Quiz here
The Careers with STEM Job Kits are free downloadable 8-page e-mags which offer a complete introduction to individual STEM careers. Discover what a specific STEM job is all about, meet real people working in that job and find out what you can do right now to set your career on the right path. Occupations covered are:
- Process Engineer
- Information Security Analyst
- Future Energy Specialist
- Construction Project Design
- Design Engineer
- Robotics + Automation Engineer
- Future Cities Shaper
- Future Scientist
- Space & Defence Specialist
- Data Scientist
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Architect
- Earth and Environmental Scientists
- Game Designer & Developer
- Medical Physicist
Access the kits via https://bit.ly/3oM5uiO
Careers associated with computers:
For concerned parents and keen students, there is so much more to this area than gaming!
- Cybersecurity – for those with an interest in IT, Gaming, Computers, Hacking and How things work, please do yourself a careers favour and watch the following recording Exploring careers in Cybersecurity student webinar with the Australian Signals Directorate https://vimeo.com/425750857
- Interactive Career Wheel – designed to assist students with exploring careers in technology https://www.careersfoundation.com.au/
- Computing Careers & Disciplines: A Quick Guide for Prospective Students and Career Advisors – while this is a Canadian resource, the information is still exceptional. Download the free epdf, watch the webinar, https://ceric.ca/resource/computing-disciplines-quick-guide-prospective-students-career-advisors or swing past the Careers Office to collect a hardcopy.
- The Young ICT Explorers competition runs each year, inviting students from schools all over Australia to create projects of their choice related to the Digital Technologies curriculum. The competition is not tied to any one tool or product. Check out their webpage for more information.
- Latrobe/Cisco: Intro to Cybersecurity, a self-paced, free program for Year 11 and 12 students wanting to explore career possibilities in this area.
Careers in Agriculture
Great resources containing details about careers connected with agriculture, horticulture and working with animals, can be found at:
- Career Harvest, www.careerharvest.com.au
- Rural Skills Australia - Rural Careers Guide, www.ruralcareers.net.au
- RuralBiz which has an online Ag Careers Expo on 2 August at 11am – Register here or check out their past online events via their website http://www.ruralbiztraining.com.au/ag-careers
Careers in Real Estate
Working in the real estate profession offers students the opportunity to achieve high levels of personal satisfaction and career success. In general terms, estate agents lease, manage, appraise, buy and sell residential, rural, commercial and industrial property or business on behalf of clients. The first step in establishing a real estate career is to become an agent’s representative. Agent’s representatives perform a variety of real estate roles under the supervision of a licensed estate agent. Students who are interested in completing a course to become a real estate agent, might like to browse the following link that addresses a number of FAQs - Student Information. For more information about careers in real estate and the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) visit REIV.
Careers in Art and Design – ADERG is now available
The Art & Design Resource Guide (ADERG) 2022 is available online at aderg.com.au
Planning on studying teaching in the future?
Victorian Government are looking for 4,000 new teachers. Are you in? If you’re thinking about a career in teaching, now is the time. Whether it’s about learning about the benefits of becoming a teacher, or finding out more about the teaching courses on offer, and/or pathways to becoming a teacher, students are encouraged to browse Victorian Government - Teach The Future.
If you are planning on applying for an undergraduate education degree in the future, you will need to be aware of selection criteria for each state.
Victorian courses
- Achieve a minimum ATAR of 70: Some universities will require a higher ATAR. You may be able to access entry into courses with a lower ATAR if you are eligible for ATAR adjustment factors.
- Register and complete the Casper test: this is an online video-based situational judgment test. The test is designed to measure ethics, empathy and communication (selected universities will require this). More information is available at Altus - Casper.
- Achieve prerequisites: meet the requirements for prerequisite subjects.
Forage: Virtual Work Experience
Year 11 and 12 students may feel a little stooged having missed out on the school Work Placement program in Year 10. And some current Year 10s may have not been able to secure an opportunity specific to their future interests. For those keen to experience a virtual work experience opportunity, Forage offers a free opportunity to showcase your skills and find your career fit via bite-sized 5-6 hour virtual work experience programs that give students a genuine career advantage with Fortune 500 companies. Interested??? Free Virtual Work Experience Programs from Top Companies - Forage (theforage.com)
