Careers

Greetings from the Careers Office Desk

Plans for year ten work experience are in full swing. We have several students heading to far flung destinations and we wish them all the best of luck while they are away. Students are expected to make a recording or take photos while they are on their placements to present to the class when they return.

The year eleven tertiary institutions trip was a huge success. Post camp catch up interviews are now happening with the students who attended. It is interesting to note that many have changed their minds and have found new and exciting directions for their academic futures. Many others have had their aspirations confirmed.

The year nine Careers Week details are being finalised for the last week of June. A trip to the Horsham Career Expo and to Deakin and SW TAFE in Warrnambool are just a couple of the fantastic activities that the students will participate in.

Eleven year nine students have signed up to take part in the RIST Wool Overview program that is beginning with a trip to Melbourne next week. They will visit a wool auctioning centre and then the wool museum in Geelong on the way back. Visits to see shearing and working dogs are planned for next term.

A small group of year ten students are mid-way through the Trade Taster Program being run each Thursday afternoon in partnership with Westvic. Students report that they have enjoyed a variety of trades including plumbing and hospitality.

Monthly lunch time inspirational speakers are planned for the year twelves. Last month students enjoyed Miss GB’s soup and slices while they listened to Paul Watkins. Paul shared with them his grit and determination to achieve his personal goals. This month an equally amazing person will share their challenging journey with them.

The Careers Office is full of recourses and students are always welcomed to drop by and enjoy the toasty interior on these chilly days.

Deakin Arts & Education Info Sessions

Melbourne Sports Institute

Melbourne Uni Cybersecurity Career

Year 9 Careers Week

Year 9 Careers Week 2019 was jam-packed full of activities, trips and guest speakers.

This was the 5th time we have run the careers week for year 9s and every year we find more that we could do to provide students with opportunities to feel excited and inspired about their futures.

Over the week we hosted 5 guest speakers, 15 alumni members during a career speed dating event, visited the Horsham Careers Expo, visited SW TAFE and Deakin University in Warrnambool, completed online Morrisby tests, created Career Action Plans and found out about year 10 work experience and the framework differences between VCE, VCAL and VET at Baimbridge.

There was an effort to provide a broad range of experiences for the students as individually their interests are understandably diverse. The feedback from the students was very positive and contained valuable suggestions of even more things that we might consider including next time.

Thank you to all the teachers who helped out during the in-school and out of school sessions and to the students who participated enthusiastically in everything that was on offer.

Year 10 Work Experience

Baimbridge College year 10 work experience has again been a stupendous success in 2019.

Over the last 2 weeks of June around 55 students attended 126 placements at 108 businesses. Students secured placements in Hamilton, Warrnambool, Brighton, Ballarat, Horsham, Collinwood, Frankston, Deer Park and Dunkeld to name a few. The industries were also varied including but not limited to, hospitality, health, agriculture, mechanical, research, dentistry, medical calibration, education, art curation, plumbing, building, spray painting, plastering disability, aged care and early childhood services, radio and media.

Overwhelmingly the feedback from employers and supervisors has been very positive. The students worked hard, showed respect, used their initiative, provided support to those they were working for and with. In this time, they developed their 21st Century skills of collaboration, critical thinking, creative problem solving and communication. It is exciting for them as they can now add this experience to their resumes and so, promote their new and developed transferable skills to potential employers and training providers in the future.

Several students have secured part time work, been offered the opportunity for work placements and been encouraged to consider apprenticeships in the future when they are ready.

One group of students whose enthusiasm, maturity and willingness to have a red-hot-go while working at an educational farm, so impressed the visiting group of primary school students that Baimbridge College received a formal letter of praise from the supervising teachers.

During the two weeks many teachers took the opportunity to visit the students in their workplaces to check in and find out how they were going. Making this contact again drew praise from employers as they were surprised to find out how committed we were to ensure that this time was successful for both parties.

Students are now completing personal reflections, creating Work Experience Power points to present to their peers and writing thank-you letters to their employers. Many students have clearer ideas of what they might consider as a career in the future. Many students know that the world of work demands so much more from them than school. Overall, they have made some very valuable contacts, expanded their professional networks and perhaps had a peek into the adult world of work. The aim of this time was to help them understand that school is a valuable step towards their future and that a education and training do not stop when school finishes.

We are so proud of every one of them, thankful to all of the businesses that hosted them and the parents that supported them during time.

Georgia de Man:

I did work experience at the Geelong Advertiser. I was extremely nervous although there was nothing to worry about. I showed up 10 minutes early and I even made the mistake of trying to open a locked door. How embarrassing.

So many people made the effort to come up and introduce themselves to me, this made me feel very welcome. Over the week I did an assortment of things. I’ve been on amazing jobs, met amazing people and heard incredible stories. I even witnessed a day in court. That was interesting to say the least. I thought I wanted to do something within media and work experience has been valuable. I do believe that work experience is an amazing opportunity that everyone should do.

Hilary Slocombe:

After my first week of work experience at Hamilton North Primary School, I spent a week at RMIT University in Melbourne. There I joined the research team investigating the effects of smoking on the nerve network surrounding the gastrointestinal tract. The research used a mouse model. Two groups of mice were used. One group was kept under normal laboratory conditions, while the other smoked the equivalent of eight Winfield Red cigarettes a day. My task was to count the nerve cell ganglia on photographs of dissected mice that had been taken using immunofluorescent microscopy. I worked in a secure facility with a team of eight research scientists who had come from all over the world. It was great to have had the opportunity to work in two completely different workplaces and to get to experience what these working environments were like first hand.