There are more law graduates in Australia each year than the total number of lawyers in Australia.
It may take you years after you graduate to find a job where you practise law.
DIY Law
Not only are there too many law graduates for the job vacancies that are available, you can get advice on how to write your will online. You can file for divorce online. Artificial intelligence delivers instant information that law degrees take years to deliver.
People don’t go to lawyers if they can save themselves money by doing law themselves.
The demand is down. The price is up. There is a glut of law graduates looking for work.
You might think again about doing a law degree.
Law degrees deliver great thinking and analytical skills
If someone with a law degree applied for a job I advertised, chances are they would get an interview. The job probably wouldn’t demand law work but I would presume the applicant could problem solve, think of good wording for contracts and warn me of any dodgy stuff that was in paper work. Someone with a law degree would probably be a good employee.
On the other hand, someone with a business or commerce degree may be better for my business, AND their degree would have cost them half as much.
Make Smart Decisions
If you bought a car for $70,000 you would check out a few car sales places before you made your decision to buy.
All universities in Western Australia deliver law degrees. Pick two or three universities and make an appointment with career advisors. Check out what law degrees you can specialise in. Compare the different courses and support that the different unis deliver…. there is a big difference between the support provided by unis in WA.
Ask current students questions about the courses on Whirlpool.
Curtin and Murdoch then joined the rush for your attention.
Notre Dame keeps being scored as the best university in Australia by its students. You can register your interest in an early offer HERE.
All of the universities are putting in place more requirements that they did last year so students don’t have the freedom to drop out of school once they get offered a place. Each of the universities is slightly different and you can apply for a place at more than one university.
University Career Advisors will get you there
They ALL want you to enrol at their university and are bending over backwards to help you.
– Don’t meet the course pre-requisites? We have a bridging program for you.
– Don’t know how to do referencing? Do this support program.
– Having trouble settling in to uni life? Check out our wellness program.
Pick a university. Is it close? Are your friends going there? Does it have a great course? Do you like its ranking by past students?
– Go to that university and meet with a career advisor. Tell them what you would like to study.
– Ask them what is available to help you to meet entry requirements. They will point you to the best course for you, or design one that meets your needs.
– Repeat at your second choice. Remember you are making a big investment of time and money. You want to check out more than one option.
How to decide
Murdoch has the Horizon Summer Program which introduces you to uni and gives you credits towards a degree. You can do the Horizons Program at the end of Year 11. Email info@murdochinstitute.wa.edu.au for information.
There are many free places in alternative pathway programs but apply early to secure one of them.
What Do Alternative Pathways Give?
Alternative entry programs are from 4 weeks to one semester long and they give much more than academic skills.
You may change your mind about what course to take.
You will find your way around the campus, where to park, where the libraries are.
You find out about uni life and about a range of degrees that are available. You may find out about less expensive ways of achieving your degree.
Although each course is different there are usually 4 subject like….
Academic Writing
Communication Skills
Essential Maths
Research Skills and Information Literacy
Courses like medicine, that have strict quotas, are not available through alternative pathways but most courses will be open to you.
Summary
– You can approach any university or all universities in Western Australia and apply for a place in 2022.
– If your Year 11 ATAR score is good enough your will be offered a place, conditional on how well you do in Year 12.
– If you don’t meet the pre-requisites, or don’t think you will get the ATAR score you need, the university will have a pathway that will help you to get there.
This is a snapshot of universities in Western Australia.
Notre Dame
BEST IN AUSTRALIA
88.4% of Notre Dame undergraduate students were satisfied with the overall quality of their learning experience according to the Quality Indicators of Learning and Teaching (QILT).
91.1% Were positive about their skills development.
76.6% found full time employment
Notre Dame is a Catholic University but you don’t need to be Catholic or Christian or even religious to go there, and the fees are comparable with other universities.
The point of difference is that Notre Dame does have a spiritual, values driven, caring approach to teaching and learning which underpins their interactions and decision making. That’s why they are topping the QILT ratings.
It is quite a small university with 10,000 students and the vast majority of them are domestic students.
The university is in beautiful renovated old buildings around Fremantle.
Pastoral care and support developed for international students has been made available to help regional and remote students to settle in. The only shortcoming is the lack of Notre Dame student accommodation but the student support services people will help students to find accommodation to meet their needs.
Curtin University
Curtin is by far our biggest university with over 50,000 students. It seems like a city with business centres, shops, gyms, accommodation and bands and food trucks, art galleries and theatres.
I think undergraduate students could have a ball at Curtin, but the sheer size of of the place can be daunting. You need to actively work at getting engaged with the Curtin community, both social and academic, to make the most of your Curtin experience.
Curtin knows this and has invested in providing plenty of help for new students and for students with special needs, but it is up to you to seek it out.
Because of the size of the university there are many opportunities available for students to extend their experience, in Australia and internationally.
Curtin is part of a knowledge precinct in Bentley with CSIRO, Tech Park and the Pawsey supercomputer in the area. Staff and students actively seek to engage with industry to get knowledge and experience and do industry based research. It is number 2 in the world for Metals and Mining Engineering programs. This industry focus underpins the feel at Curtin.
Curtin seems exciting, dynamic and very cosmopolitan with lots of international students and with campuses in Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai as well as the one at Bentley and in Kalgoorlie.
ECU – Edith Cowan University
The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching ranks ECU as the top public university in Australia for undergraduates’ student experience. You can feel the quality of the experience when you contact ECU for information. They get back to you. They try to help.
ECU started as a college for teacher training and gradually expanded its courses with WAAPA being one of the first ventures into new areas. Now WAAPA has a reputation as one of the BEST performing arts learning academies in the world.
ECU’s more recent expansion has been into engineering with significant investment into new facilities, international learning opportunities and strong demand for graduates.
ECU is pretty big but students are on the Mt Lawley and Joondalup campuses so it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
The buildings are great examples of design with some of the coolest architecture in Western Australia.
ECU is manageable and there is a strong student centric management focus which means students get help to succeed. There are many alternate pathways into ECU including the UniPrep program and experienced based entry.
People who didn’t think they could get into uni and succeed can are supported to thrive at ECU.
Murdoch University
Murdoch has recognised that the world is changing and that there is a disconnect between education and where jobs are emerging. It has introduced “adaptive expertise” as a learning spine being introduced across the university.
They are focusing on adapting traditional courses with the application of technologies. So History + STEM could result in machine learning that unearths previously unknown information about cultures. Journalism + STEM, as seen in the use of drones, is revealing what is happening in emergency or war environments.
Murdoch has a strong focus on getting girls into engineering. They have engaged with schools and support in industry to lift the number of girls entering this field which delivers 25% of the world’s CEOs.
Murdoch has the biggest percentage of international students in WA.
They are teaching students to think globally, to seek ways to apply technology to their work and to work collaboratively.
UWA – University of Western Australia
This is our oldest university. Many industry, political and community leaders in Western Australia went to UWA which gives strong links between UWA and leaders across the State.
The UWA campus is beautiful with Winthrop Hall being the most recognised symbol of “a university” in WA. The gardens, theatres and art gallery and its role as the initiator of the Festival of Perth make UWA a hub of culture.
UWA has positioned itself as the university for high academic performers and many high achieving school leavers identify UWA as their first preference.
CQU – Central Queensland University
This is a new comer to Western Australia and it is working hard to attract students from their traditional university pathways with courses in sonography and echocardiography which are new to WA.
The main campus is located near the bottom of William Street near Elizabeth Quay and they have set up study hubs in Busselton, Broome, Geraldton and Karratha. These are often on TAFE campuses.
Many of the students are mature aged, external students who make use of online learning, occasional face to face contact and phone calls to fit their learning around their work and other demands.
Although there are 20,000 students at CQU, they are spread across Australia and numbers in WA are still quite small.
Still not sure what to do?
Go to the university open days
Contact the university career advisors. They are paid to help you.
Contact me. I will be able to point you in the right direction for help.
Vanessa Buemi is Program Coordinator of VET and Curriculum at Cyril Jackson Senior Campus (CJSC). Cyril Jackson is one of a growing number of schools in Western Australia that is engaging with community, government and industry to deliver collaborative learning to students.
Towards the end of last year Vanessa invited me to an industry breakfast that recognised support that had been given to their students from outside the school.
Vanessa has kindly allowed me to share her welcome speech which provides insights about their Partnership Model.
Breakfast prepared and presented by Cyril Jackson Hospitality students
Vanessa’s Speech
Good morning and thank you for attending our inaugural Industry Breakfast. I’d like to speak about Partnerships at CJSC and our Partnership Model.
In 2021, CJSC trainers will deliver the following Nationally Accredited Certificates.
Active volunteering
Automotive vocational preparation
Business
Community services
Creative Industries
Engineering pathways
Hospitality
Information digital media and technology 1+2
Music
Visual arts
Technical graphics/CAD
World of Work
CJSC has historically delivered a diverse range of certificate qualifications, across 7 training industries. In the new Covid world, it is more important than ever before to prepare our students to be successful contributors in our ever evolving new world.
New world, new skills
COVID has changed the employment landscape and whilst we were already proving quality training to students we want to make it even better. Our models link students with authentic work and learning opportunities with employers in the same industries they are completing their training.
Teaching and training is enhanced through connections with the world of work and beyond.
Year 11 Plus Program
Our Yr 11 PLUS program has been providing such opportunities for the last 5 years, initially through a Certificate 1 in Work Preparation and later, Certificate 1 in Business. VET in schools, now called VET delivered to secondary students, has enabled students to begin their training whilst still completing their schooling. University pathways once considered the superior pathway to higher studies has not always been the preferred pathway for all students. We all learn differently, and VET and Workplace Learning opportunities have opened the doors for many, many students.
Policy Changes Delivered a Challenge to CJ Programs
In education, the 2016 new WACE requirements of requiring an ATAR or Certificate II qualification as the minimum requirement to achieve WACE, failed to recognise a substantial proportion of students learning needs; students like those who choose to come to Cyril Jackson to learn English.
Certificate I qualifications were largely overlooked as they did not meet minimum requirements for WACE. Certificate I qualifications disappeared from our auspicing choices and the education gap grew once again.
Our 11 PLUS program, often considered a second chance for students who have disengaged from school for many different reasons, including sociology economic and mental health reasons, has been affected by the disappearance of certificate one qualifications on scope for auspicing.
Innovative Solution to Tricky Problem
Finding a certificate II qualification that would be a suitable fit for the overall program and one that would provide new opportunities to thrive was difficult at first….then I found Certificate II in Active Volunteering which was only on scope for delivery in the Eastern States.
I contacted the provider and literally begged them to get it on scope in WA and told them we would be their trial school. That provider is now one of the largest vocational training providers for VET delivered to secondary Schools in WA.
This qualification fits perfectly with the other courses in the program; our Trainer, Teacher and Student Support Officer had the freedom to make academic and practical links with the content of this qualification and SCSA courses such as English, maths and career and enterprise.
This model works!
Links with Industry
It worked with a certificate I and it works with the certificate II in Active Volunteering because of the links with industry that form an essential role in their education at CJSC.
With the removal of certificate I qualifications it is not enough to simply train students and send them out into the world of work. We have to teach them how to transition from school to work or post school training.
Active Volunteering is a powerful qualification, one that allows students to work with members of the community as mentors and friends for others in need. It has been the foundation of personal and academic growth for once disengaged students, who have applied their learning in a safe and supportive environment.
How Cyril Jackson has met Challenges
Some of our students at CJSC start their schooling in our Intensive English Centre. Some have limited schooling and our classrooms may be their first opportunities to have an education. Our dedicated staff support our students in their transition from the Intensive English Centre (IEC) into mainstream, where they begin their Year 11 and 12 studies.
When I first started at CJSC in 2016 I sought to understand more about how the IEC worked and how I could best serve the students in my role as VET Coordinator. In just three years, through working with Belinda and the student services IEC and mainstream teams, we have trialled several successful models to ensure our students next transition into employment or further training is suitably supported. We have done this through dedicated Foundation English and workplace learning classes, building links with written and spoken communication in both a school and work environment.
The health industry, specifically aged care, has always been a strong career choice for some of our IEC graduates and we have worked hard to bridge the gap for our English as Second Language or Dialect, or EAL/D students, whose written and spoken English is still developing. Opportunities for our students to gain places in funded courses can be competitive and this has often meant these students have to wait until they complete Year 12 before can begin their vocational training.
Partnership with North Metro
In 2019 we entered into a partnership with North Metro TAFE establishing a dedicated EAL/D class of CJSC students to begin their VET delivered to secondary students training whilst also completing their courses at CJSC.
All 13 students graduated in June 2020 amidst the unpredictable early days of Covid interruptions to education and face to face classes.
These students have recently completed Yr 12 and this cohort meets again on Thursday to begin their higher studies in the health industry, through our new partnership with Amana Living.
Going Beyond the Campus
What makes both of these models work is the CJSC approach to supporting students, not only in the classroom but also through community work placements that allow our students to apply their skills through authentic learning opportunities. We aim to develop further partnerships such as these.
Every single staff member is invested in these students
Our students are supported by our team of teachers, trainers, workplace learning coordinator, IEC teachers and education assistants, our student services team, Deputy Principals and our remarkable Principal, Dr Karen Read.
They are our future and we are incredibly proud of our programs, team approach and most importantly our students who value education as a privilege.
You will not find a more dedicated school community and students with a phenomenal work ethic and will to succeed.
Our current partnerships include;
Aegis Bassendean
Amana Living,
DADAA
Ertech,
Garden City Plastics,
Plantrite
Black Swan State Theatre
WA Youth Theatre Company
Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation, and
the Cities of Bassendean and Stirling.
We hope to work with you in 2021, building strong working relationships in support of our future workforce.
Editors Note:
Thanks Vanessa and staff at Cyril Jackson. Our hearts burst with appreciation for the wonderful work you are all doing. As one student spoke I choked up and reached for a tissue, I glanced around to see EVERYONE at our table was in the same boat!!
Vanessa Buemi
At the end of the morning there were hugs and congratulations all round.
Vanessa has already offered to support teachers at Balcatta SHS by sharing details of how CJ has generated such a great environment for its students. I am sure she would be happy to pass on her wisdom to others.
Most teachers and many school leaders have never been taught how to do strategic planning. This quick guide to strategic planning could help you to achieve your professional goals. My interest is in promoting career education but you can use the process on any subject area.
Strategic planning is about clearly identifying what you want to do and how your are going to do it.
If you work for DoE, the priorities have already been set for you in the Building on Strengths document.
Schools use those priorities to identify their own strategic plans.
Each learning area will then create a plan based on those school strategic plans.
Each staff member will develop their personal plan based on their learning area plan.
DoE Priorities
Provide every student with a pathway to a successful future
Strengthen support for teaching and learning excellence in every classroom.
Build the capability of our principals, our teachers and our allied professionals.
Support increased school autonomy within a connected and unified public school system.
Partner with families, communities and agencies to support the educational engagement of every student.
Use evidence to drive decision-making at all levels of the system.
Career Education Learning Area Strategic Plan – based on DoE and School Priorities
Your school will identify local strategies against each of the 6 DoE priorities.
There are the 3 priorities for career educators to focus on. Check out your school plan. See what strategies you can add.
DoE Priorities
Career Education Strategies aligned with school KPIs
Provide Every Student with a pathway to a successful future
This is the big one for career educators. Building on Strengths talks about career skills in this priority.
If you have a reference or advisory group you could do a SWOT and USED analysis with them to identify key strategies.
– Check back copies of the In Focus Careers newsletter for ideas against STEM, Aboriginal priorities, future work directions and skills, entrepreneurial projects. – Look for advice from the DoE career education leaders and to CEAWA – Use Job JumpStart resources to build employability skills. – Work experience would go in here. – Check the Magic Happens Handbook for ideas
Strengthen support for teaching and learning excellence in every classroom
This priority doesn’t specifically mention careers but you can support this strategy by: – directing teachers to jobs in their subject area – establishing a career hub in the library – putting information about events from the In Focus Careers newsletterinto school notices – creating career notices for each learning area each month. – developing a database of subject area career experts that teachers can call on
Partner with families, communities and agencies to support the educational engagement of every student
This is a priority where career educators can shine. – Check out the Future Jobs, Future Skills STEM strategy to see who you can work with and opportunities that are available. – Your school’s Parents and Friends Association and past students are a great source of support as speakers, work experience providers and mentors. – Opportunities to engage with people outside school are identified every month in the monthly In Focus Careers Newsletter. – Establish partnerships and MoUs with local governments, businesses, organisations like WITWA and get them to support your students.
The next step is to put your strategies into a project plan. You can find a project planning proforma here. The Medium Project Business Plan is probably the best one for a project of this size.
Strategic Planning Help
Your school can delight families, achieve better educational outcomes and become a leader in 21st century education through the design and delivery of a well designed strategic plan.
In Focus Careers can:
Analyse your school strategic plan against system wide plans and report on what is going well and where there could be improvements.
Run strategic planning workshops.
Run professional development for staff on how to do strategic planning
Draft a strategic plan for your school.
Create a business plan based on your strategic plan.
Design a performance management template for staff to use as they plan their activities against the school plan.
Ensure that career education is a key consideration in your school planning.
In Perth they currently have four properties which are managed by UniLodge Australia:
Erica Underwood House,
Guild House,
Kurrajong Village and
Vickery House.
Each property is located within easy walking distance to the centre of campus, and Curtin are currently offering a discount of up to $2,500* when you live on campus for the full 2021 academic year!
In 2022 Curtin will be opening two new student accommodation options (a new halls of residence and a college!) in Perth as part of their ‘Exchange Precinct’.
ECU has accommodation at Mt Lawley, Joondalup and Bunbury. They call the accommodation ECU “villages” which isn’t quite accurate as they don’t look like villages, although the social life may make up for that.
Notre Dame Fremantle has accommodation in old buildings near the university. It has the funkiest accommodation to be found at any WA university. You can watch a video on Notre Dame accommodation HERE.
UWA student accommodation is across the road from the campus. I always thought it would be exotic to stay in the St George’s castle, although the rooms were cold and musty when I was at UWA.
In most cases the links are through to the information provided by the Good Universities Guide Career Ladders. Where information wasn’t available on the Careers Ladders I have added a link to the most useful information I could find.
The Good Universities Guide has uni and VET courses
MyFuture
MyFuture has videos and great information about careers. It may be worth subscribing as all States and Territories contribute to that central store of information. It costs about $15 a year to subscribe.
MyFuture was created by all Australian States and Territories. It is THE most comprehensive career site we have.
In Focus Careers
I wrote a post recently with updated links to all of the key careers sites.
Getting into medicine is a job. The competition is fierce and the pathway is rigorous. Many potential doctors fall by the wayside due to the strain of the application process.
During the summer holidays 30 students who were going into year 11 and 12 this year did a week long, hands on and theory course at the Harry Perkins Centre. The program is run by Scitech to help students to find out more about health careers in WA.
The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCASA) is THE mob that makes up the rules about WACE. The first place to find information about Year 11 and 12 is in the official Year 10 Information Handbook which SCASA puts out.
If you can’t find the information you need or if you are unclear on anything contact them at info@scsa.wa.edu.au.
STEP 2 Hear Your Dream
You need to have some idea about what career direction you would like to take.
Many schools have the Career Voyage program that will help you to nail down a career direction for the near future. If you don’t have access to Career Voyage at school you can do the quiz at a Jobs and Skills Centre.
I have done this Coggle brain storm of a bunch of places you can check out to narrow down what you like.
Email me Bev.J@infocus-careers.com.au if you would like access to the Coggle map so that you can just click on the links.
STEP 3 Do You Want to do ATAR??
For years ATAR results were the short cut that universities used to choose their students. Things are changing. Competition between universities has heated up and they are looking at many alternative pathways that:
enable more students to go to university
ensure students don’t fail when they get there.
Universities are looking for alternative pathways more than schools and parents.
TAFE has always been flexible with its pathways to learning than universities and there is a huge range of possible pathways offered.
Job Prospects for Young Job Seekers
Last year the Career Development Association put on a webinar delivered by Ivan Neville, from the Commonwealth Department of Employment. He said….you really need to get a year 12 qualification, or equivalent, to get a job…..
But there isn’t much difference in employment outcomes between a degree (3.6%) and a Cert III (4.1%).
The opening of university entry to a wider audience had resulted in a shift towards degrees and away from vocational education since 2008.
There are now stronger job outcomes for apprentices and trainees than people with degrees.
Step 4 Check Course PRE-REQUISITES
There are lots of courses that have RECOMMENDED subjects, but not so many have definite PRE-REQUISITES that MUST be done as a WACE subject in order to get into a course.
There are lots of pathways into further study and your WACE pathway is just one of them.
The most direct pathway is however, to take subjects that the universities are looking for. So, once you have narrowed down a career direction to take, check out the TISC University Admissions Handbook. It identifies what WACE subjects you should take to keep your options open.
OLNA
The Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) is the minimum WACE requirement reading, writing and numeracy. It is usually done in 10 but there are more opportunities to sit the Assessment in Year 11 and 12 and even AFTER Year 12.
Prospective TAFE students who do not meet these standards can:
sit a TAFE Admissions literacy and/or numeracy test administered by Training Sector Services;
be referred to a TAFE college for a Learning Area Assessment; or
enrol in a course that does not have literacy or numeracy requirements, including foundation skills, equity courses and Certificate I
Step 5 Contact Your Career Advisor
Tap into the knowledge and experience of your career advisor.
If you don’t have access to a specialist career advisor at your school, go to a TAFE college Jobs and Skills Centre or private careers consultant to be sure your next step is the right one.
For your monthly dose of inspiration and insanely great career information subscribe to my newsletter:
I have found your material invaluable. The information you have put together is thorough – a one-stop-shop in a sea of information that is out there. I have utilised this information on a regular basis with others throughout the school.
(South Metropolitan Government High School.)
My Commitment to West Australian Careers Education
For In Focus Careers to be the conduit to Insanely Great Careers Information for West Australian students I undertake to:
Write 10 insanely great issues of In Focus Careers newsletter each year that focus on the needs of West Australian students and careers teachers.
Search for local, national and international information that could impact on the careers of West Australian students.
Connect you with insanely great careers teachers across the In Focus Careers network.
Listen to and support West Australian careers teachers.
If you have ever tried to take a class on an excursion you know how hard it is. The maths staff complain that they need the students to do a test on that day. The front office staff complain that you haven’t finished the paper work. The students don’t bring in their money.
It doesn’t seem worth the effort.
School systems aren’t set up to support learning out of school grounds.
As the boundaries between schools, universities and registered training organisations (RTOs) become more porous there is a need for schools to become more agile in their approach to learning.
Unis and RTOs have these 5 systems in place that support flexible learning.
1. Governance
They specify what they are aiming to achieve and who is responsible within each organisation. They also have a time and reporting stipulations and they have identified standards that support strategic goals.
2. Management
Universities and VET training providers have management systems in place to guide off campus learning. The management process includes how the project fits into strategic targets and learning outcomes.
3. Legal
There are generic equal opportunity, privacy, duty of care and occupational health and safety laws designed to protect students, workers and volunteers. Once these standards are in place they provide the framework for all excursions.
4. Financial
Universities and RTOs organise their finances so that there are staff who take responsibility for flexible learning arrangements. This is not the task of the academic staff. Financial management will be determined by school funding models and may include costs associated with the off campus activities.
5. Technical
Universities and RTOs have IT systems that capture and share information without the need for duplication.
Want to know more?
Email me for a copy of the How to set up a school – industry partnership framework.
Many schools have the Career Voyage program that will help you to nail down a career direction for the near future. If you don’t have access to Career Voyage at school you can do the quiz at a 
