CAREERS

LAKE ILLAWARRA HIGH CAREERS WEBSITE

A useful website that is used by Year 10 -12 students to access current information to assist in future directions, career planning, general information, job vacancies and newsletters. Facebook is also added to this website so students can like the page and get prompts for job vacancies, special events and current careers information. All caregivers are also welcome to access the site and find useful information. The link is lakeillawarrahighcareers.com or you can simply type in Lake Illawarra High School Careers in any search engine.

YEAR 12 INFORMATION

Year 12 students have participated in individual interviews to discuss future options and to assist in any enquiries of career pathways. A booklet on Post School options has been provided to all. Lake Illawarra High School Careers website https://www.lakeillawarrahighcareers.com/

has information to assist future planning and the Lake Illawarra High School facebook page is also useful with jobs and future events relevant for high school students.

https://www.facebook.com/Lake-Illawarra-High-School-Careers-1691530507767524/

Open Days for university campus and TAFE are an excellent way to discover and finalise courses. This year open days are virtual and are online. Open Day Calendar is ::::

Students even applying to university can also consider back up plans and alternate pathways to their courses.

Students applying to university in 2020 have some dates to remember and to be organized prior:

Early Admissions to UOW online application is open and closes 14th August
University admissions centre (UAC) applications are opened
Open days at universities are varied and students need to enquire
Educational Access Scheme applications with UAC are open
Student Recommendation Scheme applications are open (for universities other than UOW)

The careers newsletter with additional information has been sent to students’ school email.

APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINEESHIP PILOT PROGRAM

A group of 12 students in Year 10 were selected to participate in a two part workshop to understand VET (Vocational Education Training) pathways. Knowing the difference between apprenticeships and traineeships as well as the benefits of these careers was discussed in a fun and interactive environment. Presenters were LIHS Careers Adviser Mrs Willingham and R2go Transition To Work co-ordinator Fiona Crane.

The program was a success in developing knowledge and understanding and will be used in future workshops with Year 10 students.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Students in Year 10 are again invited to participate in work experience during the last week of Term 3. Information has been discussed and distributed during careers lessons at the beginning of the year. Due to changed circumstances in the community, the availability may be limited of businesses willing to take on students. Therefore it is important that students take an interest and contact either in person or by phone to ask employers about work experience.

This is a very worthwhile experience for all students to be involved in as it could open doors to further opportunities and build interest towards different careers.

YEAR 10 MOCK INTERVIEW DAY

Year 10 students have the opportunity to practice their skills and prepare for future interviews by taking part in the Mock Interview Day on Thursday 13th August. This is compulsory for all Year 10 students and they are expected to have a resume and portfolio for a ‘pretend’ employer based on a chosen advertisement or career of their choice. Preparation for the Mock Interview Day has been in Careers lessons and students will receive additional interview skills and practice before the day.

Thankfully, various people from the community, including Employment and Apprenticeship Agencies, local businesses and UOW have volunteered their time and expertise to speak and listen to the students. This will give all who participate a real-life experience. Covid guidelines and safe practice will be implemented and I am extremely happy that we are able still able to do this activity for 2020.

Feedback and overall evaluation of the ten-minute impression during the interviews will be provided to students, which will assist them in preparing for future interviews when applying for jobs. Please support your child in participating in this event.

EXTERNAL VET COURSES

Students keen to do External VET subjects in 2020 can find out the courses on offer on the EVET website.https://evet.nsw.edu.au/evet_courses/

There are various courses on offer to students in current Years 9 - 11. Subjects could be for one year or over two years and some courses are in late afternoon, one day per week or early evening. Students will need to find their own transport to and from the course. These courses are suited for students who have an interest or clear career path that they wish to develop while at school.

Students wishing to apply can see Mrs Willingham in the Careers Office for more details and to pick up an Expressions of Interest form, fill it out and submit by 31st August to the Careers Office. There is no guarantee that students will be selected but there is no acceptance of late applications.

CAREERS NEWSLETTER can be read to for further information about upcoming university open days, apprenticeship information and other useful websites. This is attached to the school newsletter, is always sent to Years 10 – 12 and can be accessed on the school’s website or Lake Illawarra High School Careers website.

‘As always, I am here to help you.’

Rhonda Willingham

Careers Adviser

GUMNUT PATISSERIE LIVE PASTRY CLASS

Gumnut Patisserie is a prestigious patisserie located in the beautiful Highlands and has generously given up their time to host a live Pastry Class for our students via zoom. This was a pilot program organised by Jenny Watts our Senior Project Officer for Regional Industry Education Partnerships Training Services NSW.

LIHS Year 11 Hospitality and Year 10 Food Technology students were the host school and logged in directly with Tracy, the owner of Gumnut Patisserie and her son Josh. Josh has just won the Apprentice of the Year in the Illawarra South East Region and was excellent in explaining his passion for the industry and some added insights on how to get into this career. The Gumnut Patisserie apprentice chef demonstrated and instructed our students on how to bake Palmiers and then a Q and A followed where our school had to ask many questions for the recorded zoom activity. This zoom lesson is an innovative way of promoting VET pathways into hospitality or commercial cookery and we are grateful for the opportunity provided by Training Services NSW.

CAREERS NEWSLETTER can be read to for further information about upcoming university open days, apprenticeship information and other useful websites. This is attached to the school newsletter, is always sent to Years 10 – 12 and can be accessed on the school’s website or Lake Illawarra High School Careers website.

‘As always, I am here to help you.’

Rhonda Willingham

Careers Adviser

SKILLS AND THRILLS IS GOING DIGITAL!

SkillsOne will be taking our highly successful Parents Showcase digital, with our free video for parents due out on August 10 2020.

The Skills and Thrills Digital Parents Showcase is an engaging and informative 20-minute video created to highlight vocational education and training (VET) and the success stories that emanate from VET pathways. The Digital Parents Showcase will help parents better understand vocational pathways, including apprenticeships/traineeships and school-based apprenticeships/ trainineeships and give parents the knowledge they need to help their children make informed career choices.

TOPICS COVERED IN THE VIDEO:

Apprenticeships and Traineeships
TAFE/ Private Training Providers
Industry trends and Covid-19 impacts on industry
Funding options available (Smart and Skilled)
Vocational Education and Training (VET) Options: School -delivered VET, SBATs and EVET
Where to find information / Resources and support services

HOW PARENTS CAN ACCESS THE CONTENT:

Content will only be available for a four week period from August 10 to September 4 2020. Content cannot be downloaded or saved, so must be watched during this time.
To participate, parents need to pre-register their interest to receive viewing information and updates at www.skillsone.com.au
Content will be free for parents
Live Q&A Panel discussion on August 26 (evening) on SkillsOne Facebook
Parents can pre-submit any questions to do with careers/ industry to info@skillsone.com.au

ELEVATE SEMINAR

On Thursday 6th August, Year 11 and 12 students were fortunate enough to attend a Seminar delivered by Elevate Education. These Seminars were designed to assist the students in their upcoming Yearly, Trial and HSC examinations.

Year 11 attended a seminar on ‘Ace your Exams’

The Ace Your Exams seminar covered:

Highest value exam preparation tasks
Fixing mistakes to ensure constant improvement
Time allocation during exam preparation
Techniques for managing stress & time pressure in exams

Year 12 attended a seminar on ‘The Finishing Line’

The Finishing Line seminar covered:

Overcoming weaknesses in the lead up to exams
The role of exam study groups
Stress management techniques and wellbeing
Study routines for holidays

The Seminars were very informative and we are sure that each student that attended will take something away from them that will assist them in achieving their best in their upcoming examinations.

For more information on Elevate Education you can visit

https://au.elevateeducation.com/

The Black Swan

Issue 3 · 10 Aug 2020

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