Year 10 were addressed by Corporate Trainer Nikki Heald and given a wealth of friendly tips concerning how they should present and survive in the workplace. They get to put this into practice at their Work Experience in the last week of term. A wide variety of jobs have been secured for our Year 10 students and they are looking forward to the experience of being in the adult world.
Year 11 were introduced to the range of Certificate Courses available and informed that University of Wollongong are now deeming a Certificate 3 course to equate to an ATAR of 62 and a Certificate 4 course to equate to an ATAR of 72. This has enormous implications for students looking for pathways into tertiary study that do not require an HSC. Our nurse TVET students for example will attain a Certificate 3 by the end of next year and gain automatic entry to UOW without having to count any other work if they so desire. Of course the usual ATAR route is preferable and best for flexibility of courses especially in the Sciences but these new initiatives give options that may be useful in the future, especially for students wishing to attempt a vocational certificate course now. This extra perspective is reassuring.
Year 11 students were also addressed by Ms Claudia Penlington from Bedford College, which provides one year courses with excellent small group support in areas such as Business and Child Care which result in a Diploma and automatic articulation to a wide range of Universities without an HSC ATAR being necessary. She explained that this homely supportive environment may suit some students who need lots of assistance with the skills of tertiary study.
Year 12 students were addressed by Ms Kimberly Cullen from University of Technology, Sydney and shown exciting pathways in Science and new technologies that open up the way to new careers. Also Mr Sam Wade from Antipodeans presented enticing adventure options for world-wide expeditions and service trips that Year 12s can make at the end of this year and after they leave school.
Never before has there been so much opportunity for our school leavers to get so much varied and specialised assistance to pursue exciting Career paths. Also with the arrival of the new Liverpool campus of UOW our students have access to high quality tertiary training right on their doorstep.
It is highly recommended that students and their families explore our main Careers Assistance web site – Job Jump – to gain the help needed to access and understand what is available. Both students and their parents can join, using our password of tom .
Exploring Job Jump would make an excellent vacation activity that could pay great dividends for the future.
Jim Ward
Careers Advisor