Learning in the Workplace

Reflecting on Year 10 Work Experience Week

Victorian Bar

I had the opportunity to do work experience with a barrister who works at the Victorian Bar. To start off the week I was shown around all of the offices as well as the Magistrates Court, the County Court and the Supreme Court. Throughout the week I was permitted to sit in on many of the court cases occurring at the Supreme Court. One of the standout cases that I attended was a murder trial, about a murder that had occurred between two gangs outside of a boxing match. I sat in on this case most days and had the amazing experience of witnessing CCTV footage and witness statements, as well as phone calls between the two accused. Some other cases that I attended were two missing body cases, another murder case about an elderly man who shot his neighbor and a sentencing case in the Magistrates Court regarding a drug trafficking case. The barrister I was working with introduced me to a couple of the Judges that I had witnessed at the cases, as well as some criminal lawyers that gave me an amazing insight into what it’s really like being a lawyer! When working with the barrister, I also stayed in and listened to a rugby tribunal about unsafe tackling and a couple calls with clients, as well as aiding in some research about voice recognition (I got to use the really old lawyer books!). To summarize, it was an amazing experience and I got an amazing insight into what it's like to be a criminal lawyer and everyone that I worked with throughout the week was super friendly. This experience has really opened me up to considering this career. 

Madeline N

Castlemaine Honey

During my work experience, my cousin and I had the opportunity to work with my Uncle and Auntie on their property in Castlemaine, Victoria. We were fortunate to learn about the honey extraction process and gain insights into various aspects of the honey business and its operations. Throughout the week, we were involved in a wide range of activities. Initially, we spent time in the extracting room, working alongside other employees to extract honey from hive frames and repack the empty hives into bee boxes. Our typical workday started at 8 am and ended at 4 pm. However, on Tuesday, we travelled to Bendigo to assist with relocating bees. This task had to be carried out during the night when the bees were less active and returned to their hives. During the remaining days, we were engaged in tasks such as cleaning IBC tanks using pressure washers, melting down creating 10kg wax blocks with wax molds,  packaging jars of honey, and constructing bee boxes and frames in the sheds. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the honey production process and being part of the workplace dynamics throughout a standard workweek.

Angus M

Reservoir East PS

For experience I worked at Reservoir East Primary school and spent the first four days in a prep class. The classes only had around 12-15 students per class and because of that I was able to make connections with each student. By the second day I was able to teach them, and we had fun doing some math problems. On the last day I went to interschool sport and was given the opportunity to umpire and coach year 5/6s in football. Overall, I had so much fun and can see myself studying in the education department in the future.  

Olive N

Metro Trains

Arriving at the gate early in the morning, the first thing I saw was this massive shed filled with trains and in the vast distance were more trains stabled up. We entered the front door and checked in. Walking to the main office we were greeted by friendly faces welcoming us to their yard. We had a brief overview of what we had planned for the day. We were taken downstairs to the depot where various trains were being worked on with skill and precision. We were briefed on their in-depth safety rules. We were guided around the fascinating trains that caught my attention. Learning about them showed me how much time and effort went into designing them. We then went out into the yard to look at the trains stabled there and were informed about all the parts of them. We were also shown the building where the trains were cleaned. We finished day one by going to the signalling room. As expected, there were a lot of monitors with train routes on them. I saw the signallers working hard to maintain to schedule. 

We also spent time at Epping depot. This time we were guided by the manager who was really helpful with describing to us all the workings of the train and how the parts worked.  We then headed back up to the signalling room and were given a more situational awareness of what goes on behind the signals. We then talked about new routes and plans for the future. Then it was time to go. I want to thank the staff of Epping depot and Yannis for giving me such an amazing opportunity to fulfill one of my long-time ambitions and give me insight into various career paths at Metro Trains Melbourne.

Ben M

Michael Cassell Group, ‘&Juliet’

I was so lucky to have the opportunity to spend my week of work experience with the Michael Cassell group producing the show ‘&Juliet’. The show is on at the Regent Theatre, which is where I was based for the week, spending a day in each department. My hours were a bit different to most, going from 5:30pm-10pm Tues-Fri, and 12:30pm-5pm on Saturday. My first day was spent with the sound department, watching them mix the show at the back of the audience. My other days were spent shadowing stage hands, show callers, WHAM (Wigs, Hair And Makeup) and watching the live band. Although it was more of a learning experience than a job, I loved every minute of it and would go back in a heartbeat. 

Mae R 

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

I did work experience at Peter MacCallum which is a cancer center in the city. During my stay I got to witness the different procedures that took place for different types of cancers. 

I did mainly observational work where I asked plenty of questions to which the staff responded, helping me gain an understanding of the complex technology that was being used. 

A lot of the nuclear radiation equipment they were using needed a license, so I had to sit back behind a protective glass wall. However, I did help clean up after some of the patients and was also able to work in admin.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience and one that I would definitely consider as a career path.

Bili L-C

Box Hill Hospital 

The first 4 days of my work experience was at Box Hill Hospital, mainly in the cardiology section of the hospital. I was guided around by a cardiology researcher and ethics committee manager 

I mainly did observation work as I was restricted by privacy issues, but still asked many questions to staff who gave me great insights and answers. They gave me a deeper understanding of what I was observing and explained why it was used. They showed me a lot of tremendous machines and resources used in a hospital to save lives, like CT scans, x-rays, MRI machines and so much more. I got to access some CT scans to determine if people had damage to the heart or disease to the heart which I found extremely interesting. Not only did I get to inspect the cardiology unit but also talked to other worker and occupations I was interested in like physiology, cancer research, and so much more. 

During my time at the hospital, I also talked to some of the University students their and cardiologist and asked them about how I can get into medicine and many other crucial questions. I found this extremely helpful to planning for my future and to get a deeper insight into the school system.

On the last day of the week, I worked with an A level electrician who owns an electrician business in Northcote. I started the day with an early morning in Carlton where I worked with his colleagues to install a security system for a house, were I helped attach cameras, cable manage and so much more. I found this a lot more hands-on which I found amazing. When we were finished, we went to a house in box hill, were I stripped cables to prepare them for electronics, again being very physical. During this experience I also talked to his colleagues about how you become an electrician and many other important questions I found very helpful.  It was extremely enjoyable and hands-on experience. 

Overall, I found work experience a very enjoyable and worthwhile and I would definitely do it again. It has really helped me look toward my future and goals. But has also allowed me to think about career paths I am interested in. 

I would recommend trying something you are generally considering as a career and to prepare questions before you go so you ask everything you wanted to ask without forgetting. I also found it extremely helpful to bring a notebook to write everything down that I found important and remember questions.

Finnley S