Category: Career educators

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Career Practitioners’ Place in an AI World – Presentation to download

I developed this presentation for a conference last weekend. It builds on a blog post I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

Shift Happens

Shift Happens came out more that a decade ago. The changes it identified focused on the analogue world.

  • The population of China and India

  • How many brilliant kids there are in India

  • China becoming the number one English speaking country in the world.

It delivers lots of revelations that we now accept as part of out world. We adapted.

We are going to have to adapt to AI generated change even faster. 

AI and Online Job Applications

The Australian government came out with guidelines for using AI for your job applications. It is now 12 months old but still has great advice about protecting your privacy.

Job Applications Using AI

Everyone is using AI to generate their first draft of AI. Ty Jones from Jobs and Skills in Geraldton reckons many are a lot better than the ones he is used to getting!!

They need to be personalised once the initial draft has been done.

Ty does a brilliant presentation on the use of AI in job applications. He really demystifies how to use it. You can email him for a copy HERE. 

Career Practitioners are Change Agents

We are change agents and our role is to guide people in times of significant change.

We KNOW where to find the most current relevant information and we KNOW how to engage with people.

How to Prepare for the Future

There is already a tsunami of information to wade through.

The speed of incoming information is going to increase. My advice is to specialize if you can. Pick a narrow field and go deep if you want to keep up. 

 If you can’t specialize you need to form strong networks of experts to work with. 

Learn How to Provide Holistic Solutions

Nora Bateson’s Warm Data methodology and Dave Snowdon’s Cynefin Framework provide ways of addressing complex environments.

Finally – Focus on Being Human

Engage. Connect with people. Find out how they are coping. Go to more conferences and to more meet up meetings. We need to be sharing what we know through the lens of career professionals. 

You can download a copy of my presentation HERE.

Subscribe to In Focus Careers News

Name
Are you an organisation or a single subscriber?

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Dreams come in a whisper, not in a shout. Career Influence Model for Career Advisors

Stephen Spielberg made his first feature move at 16, yet even he advised to listen for a whisper rather than wait for your dream to shout to you. You would expect the creator of the BFG, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park to know he wanted to be a movie maker.

Perhaps even Speilberg had doubts about his career choice, or wondered if there was something better for him. 

Charles Kingley said: 

It is tricky to find a job you are enthusiastic about. Those jobs don’t shout out to you. 

As career professionals it is our role to help people to:

  1. Become Aware of opportunities for enthusiasm
  2. Explore career pathways to happiness
  3. Help them to engage in work they find interesting
  4. Repeat 1 – 3 until they find something to become enthusiastic about. 

Using the Model

When working with people, ask them where they want to start on this career model: 

  • Are they looking for something totally new?
  • Do they know what they want, but not know how to get there?
  • Are they interested in their work but want to refine their target for the future?

Download this copy of the Career Influence Model to use with your clients

Download HERE. 

Download copy with Speech Bubbles HERE. 

Subscribe to In Focus Careers News for West Australian Students

Name
Are you an organisation or a single subscriber?

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Out Now – In Focus Careers News April 2025. Discover your path to careers for tomorrow.

Discover your path to careers for tomorrow in the April issue of In Focus Careers News. 

Unearth future possibilities in the evolving landscape of work. Identify innovative pathways to a career you love. 

The April issue leads you through new courses, support programs, scholarships and career events available to you in Western Australia now.

In Focus Careers inspires dreams and empowers you take action to shape your tomorrow. 

Subscribe Now

In Focus Careers provides a clear guide to career professionals and families trying to wade through a tsunami of career information.

Bev doing research for 2025
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Want to become a teacher? ECU Teacher Education School to Split Between Joondalup and New Perth Campus

Mount Lawley ECU Campus is to close at the end of this year.

Some faculties, like Business, IT and Creative Industries, which includes WAAPA, are moving to the new ECU campus being built next to Perth train station. 

The Teacher Education School is to be split across both Joondalup and the city campus. 

Bachelor of Education Early Childhood Studies

This degree will be available at Joondalup, South West and online in 2025. 

Bachelor of Education Primary

This course is available at Mt Lawley, Joondalup, South West and online in 2025.

Bachelor of Education Secondary

In 2025 this course is available at Mt Lawley and Joondalup. It will be split in 2026 depending on what you major in. 

Majors you can study in this course

Students may be required to attend both Joondalup and Mount Lawley campuses depending on their selected major and minor combination.

I’m Sad to See Mt Lawley Close

ECU evolved out of Claremont Teachers’ College which opened in 1902. Half of my family did their teacher education at Claremont Teachers’ College or at ECU in Mt Lawley.  

Claremont Teachers’ College. Picture from SIDE

In 1982 Claremont Teachers’ College merged with other providers of teacher education across WA and then evolved into ECU which has been a centre of excellence for teacher education in WA. It is still be biggest provider of teacher education in WA.

I hope it manages to maintain its reputation as a great provider of teacher education through the transition. 

To find out more about the move go to the ECU Handbook 

Subscribe to In Focus Careers News

Keep up to date with  West Australian careers information. Subscribe to In  Focus Careers News.

 

 

 

In Focus Careers logo

Bev doing research for 2025
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Out Now – In Focus Careers News for West Australian Students: February 2025 Issue

The first issue of In Focus Careers News is now available.

By subscribing you also get a copy of: 
Year 10 Magic Happens Careers Handbook for Students

Year 10 Magic Happens Teachers’ Guide

16 Mind Maps for Career Advisors

In Focus Careers News is unique. It is the only publication that provides news about emerging career opportunities in Western Australia. 

Subscribe Now

Be on top of all the information you need to be an outstanding career advisor.

Bev doing research for careers in hospitality and tourism in 2025

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Did Term 4 go on FOREVER? See this mindmap of potential support services for 2025

So many teachers showed symptoms of  burnout towards the end of 2024 that it shouldn’t be ignored. 

I found one explanation  published in The Conversation.  

  • The need to support students who are experiencing trauma or stress is at least one factor wearing teachers out.

  • The need to ensure the safety of students can isolate schools and prevent them accessing specialist services for students that free up teachers to teach. 

Formal arrangements, with stakeholders who meet government safety requirements, can provide expert advice and free up teachers for the already complex task of educating.

I found these services that can engage with schools to deliver services in addition to teaching

The Coggle Mentor and Support Services Map provides links to potential support services to West Australian schools. 

In Focus Careers News- Supports Students to find a career that makes their life better

 

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

What is a Skills Passport and why do you need one?

A Skills Passport is an online record of all your qualifications and skills.

The government is about to initiate consultations with employer groups, unions and educators aimed at identifying the advantages of creating a National Skills Passport. This initiative would consolidate all your qualifications and skills into a single, user-friendly database.

You need one because..

  • It might significantly ease your transition from one employer to another.
  • Many people may not realize that completing certain courses, such as a White Card or a barista course during school, actually grants them formal qualifications.
  • It’s possible to inadvertently overlook a job opportunity if you forget about a customer service qualification earned during your initial employment at McDonald’s or Bunnings.
  • As you progress through life, continuous learning is inevitable. Without a comprehensive database to store your course history, it’s easy to forget what courses you completed a decade ago.

What does it do?

  • It consolidates all your qualifications into a single database.
  • It will be integrated with standardized criteria, ensuring that certifications from”Dodgy Brothers Training” are not seen as the same as those from TAFE colleges or universities.
  • The system will adhere to interoperability standards, guaranteeing that all qualifications are recorded using a uniform format, which will allow seamless sharing and compatibility.

Why I won’t use it…

  • I used to work with IT security specialists and I am cautious about sharing personal information.
  • Identify theft is easier when everything is in one place.
  • I don’t trust that the information would not be used for different purposes.
  • I can keep my own records of my qualifications.
  • If they let me know what standards and format they want in a database, I will create my own sharable database that I will manage.

Make up your own mind

If you are a teacher or career advisor, you may want to use it to make sure school leavers have a record of all qualifications they have achieved. In that case a Skills Passport may be a convenient solution.

There will probably be an opt out clause that will allow users to stop using the service.

I think a Skills Passport could be a cool solution to people not taking responsibility for keeping their own records.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Make 2023 brilliant for career practitioners in WA schools

This has been an amazing year for career practice in Western Australia. 

We have:

  • 70 new career positions in government schools and many non-government schools are advertising for career practitioners.
  • The Year 9 Career Taster Program
  • The Career Connect Conference
  • A booming Career Development Association 
  • More industry support for career development.

Check out details on how far we have come at  WA Career Education was a Tipping Point Year in 2022

In 2023 we need to consolidate the role of career practitioners so that they become a permanent robust force that delivers guidance, hope and optimism to West Australians. Try these three practical steps to make 2023 brilliant. 

Step 1: Avoid Stress, Fatigue and Burnout. Take these steps

COVID isn’t going to disappear and teacher shortages are going to get worse in 2023. Here are some practical steps to fix your workplace.

In July the WA government released a new Code of Practice for Psychosocial Hazards under the OH&S legislation that says workplaces can’t continue to make you stressed, fatigued and burnt out. It covers things like:

  • Inadequate support
  • Lack of role clarity
  • Poor change management
  • Poor or no policies and procedures

In August the government introduced a Code for Dealing with Violence and Aggression at Work which specifically identifies lecturers, teachers and teacher aides as being vulnerable targets for this sort of behaviour from students. It also identifies strategies for making your workplace better.

Practical Action 

The Code of Practice for Psychosocial Hazards in the Workplace identifies strategies for making your workplace better. 

  • Put it on the agenda at staff meetings.
  • Give a copy to your School Well-Being Committee
  • Give a copy to your school executive
  • Ask for progress reports.

Step 2: Look after your professional career

2.1 Professional Development for Career Practice

You need to consolidate your knowledge and skills as a career practitioner by going to the:

  • events put on by unis for career practitioners 
  • opportunities provided by your employers (Department of ED, AISWA and CEAWA)
  • CDAA face-to-face and online events for career practitioners
  • Careers and Skills Expos

Practical Action

Get in early. Make sure your boss understands that knowledge of opportunities emerging outside the school is critical to your work. Book early if professional opportunities require time out of school. 

 

2.2 Professional Development for YOUR Career

There is no career path for career practitioners within schools.  After a few years, you will be able to take your professional knowledge and skills into new roles.

You need to look to where you want to be next, check out what you need for those jobs and start building those skills. 

Practical Action

  • Promotion with Existing Employer: If you want to get a promotion with your current employer, identify what role you would like, and what skills you require and start demonstrating leadership against those skills so that you will be chosen for acting roles. 
  • Changing Sectors within Education: If you want to move to a university or a Jobs and Skills Centre role, find available jobs and what skills you need. Start attending career development breakfasts in your area or online, and get known by practitioners from other sectors. 
  • Working for Industry: If you want to move into an industry, check which industry you want to move into, and find possible jobs and job descriptions. Start developing your industry-specific skills and building relationships with people in those industries. Start attending career development breakfasts in your area or online, and get known by practitioners from other industries. 
  • Private Practice: If you want to start your own professional practice, start doing small business management courses

Step 3: Go for Awards, Competitions, Scholarships and Grants

We tell kids to go for awards, competitions and scholarships. We need to take our own advice.

  • Awards and Competitions: It feels great to get an award or win a competition. Being recognised for your work feels great and it looks good on job applications. I mention awards like Women in Leadership awards and teaching awards in the In Focus Careers News whenever I find them. Under the “Outreach Opportunities” heading you will find opportunities to enter your school in competitions like the RoboCup or Lego League. Just entering will boost your ranking when applying for jobs, winning is best of course!!

 

  • Scholarships: We tell kids to research scholarships all of the time but we don’t take our own advice. Opportunities, like the Churchill Fellowship, come up each year. Some are paid, and others required you to take LSL or leave without pay. They are great to win, you get to study something you love and you get to become more expert in our industry. 

 

  • Grants: You can usually get a project to happen by working 24/7. You will nearly kill yourself and once you leave the project will collapse without you driving it. If you work full-time, you will not have time to take on something new, unless you drop something that is not a priority. Finding resources to support a new project is the best way to go. Bendigo Bank is available to support lots of endeavours in schools. If you are in the bush, the Rabo Bank may support your work. Lots of grants get advertised through the Fremantle Grants Guru and your P&C will be eligible for grants to volunteer organisations from the Lotteries Commission. 

Practical Action

  1. Identify which award, competition, grant or scholarship you want to go for, based on your current priorities. 
  2. Let your boss know what you are doing and get their imprimatur. 
  3. Start work on your project plan. 

Together we can do great things in 2023

We are on a roll in WA.

We have made such amazing progress in 2022 but our work needs to be consolidated through conscious and deliberate action to build a robust career industry in WA. 

Together we can do great things in 2023

Subscribe to the only careers newsletter in Australia, designed to enlighten educators about local trends, ideas and new approaches to the career challenges for school students.

 

Bev Johnson Director, In Focus Careers

Posted on by — Leave a comment

How I do career counselling – from my presentation in the Grad Cert tutorial this morning

How I do career counselling

This is the information that I gave in my Grad Cert talk. 

I use a double-diamond strategy when I do career counselling.

My one-on-one sessions last over two hours with a break in the middle. 

Problem

The “problem” doesn’t have to be specific. You can start with a general notion about “what to do next”.

Part 1 Counselling (a bit over an hour)

The first part of my session is counselling. 

  1. I ask about their favourite subjects and results. I write it down on paper. I don’t use a computer during the session.
  2. The client identifies a few significant people in their network, parents, aunts and uncles, family friends, and what they do. If a student comes from a family of musicians they are more likely to be a musician. If the family owns a building business, they might choose to be a tradie, engineer or architect. 
  3. We then get down to identifying values. Use your favourite tools. It is essential that you unearth what is important to the client. I use coloured pens and fluro coloured paper and do the activities that I outline in the Year 10 Magic Happens Handbook. There are lots of tools around. Find what works for you. 

Based on all this information, we then narrow it down so that we can define the problem more specifically.

For example:

To find a path out of school that is helping people, that allows me to do my sport, where I can use social media communications.

Break

4. We go for a walk. We will be tired, the counselling is draining. 

Everything about counselling must be about trust so there is no contrived agenda during the walk. We just relax, but often the client will reveal information that helps me to identify solutions. 

Part 2. Career Knowledge (a bit under 1 hour)

5. This part is easier. It is a discussion about opportunities generated from my knowledge of courses, employment and networks that could support the overarching goal. This is the information that I deliver every month through In Focus Careers News. 

We then narrow down the opportunities to a specific goal: 

To find a social media course that would help me to work in the disabled sport industry. 

At the end of the session, I undertake to get their personal career plan to them that day. They commit to doing at least two of the actions within a few days. 

Part 3. Personal Career Plan

  • As soon as the client leaves I write up a project plan with 3 separate goals and 3 or 4 associated actions that work towards each goal.  This is usually 4  pages long. 
  • I send that to the client. They are asked to email back the 2 actions that they will undertake this week. They can contact me any time. Many do as they are motivated and happy to be getting somewhere.
  • I contact them after a week. Sometimes further actions change based on the information they have learned.  
  • I continue to encourage and support and nag and deliver suggestions until the client achieves a direction that they are happy with. 

Hope that helps.

Subscribe to In Focus Careers to discover new opportunities for the career challenges of today and tomorrow. 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ideas from West Australian career educators

After the most COVID disrupted term we have had in WA, career educators have bounced back. They are standing on the shoulders of West Australian giants in career education to deliver world class career experiences to our students. 

Here are some examples from the last few weeks. 

Construction Futures Centre

Last month Kathy Moore, from Swan View SHS, organised for career educators to go  to the Construction Futures Centre in Belmont to check out the career education resources that are available to schools.No alternative text description for this image

Twenty eight career practitioners turned up and played their way through the simulation games that can be booked for school groups. You can book a tour for yourself or for a school group HERE. 

Youth Innovation Think Tank

Kim Flintoff, from Peter Carnley Anglican Community School, is building on the work of the East Metropolitan Health Service which delivers the Youth Innovation Think Tank for West Australian high schools. 

No alternative text description for this image

You can find earlier examples of problems addressed by schools HERE.

Year 9 MyCareerRules

Brett Neasham, from Governor Stirling SHS, recently ran a career conversations session for Year 9 students. The  MyCareerRules session with ABCN and Bankwest was a great introduction to careers with mentors giving  thoughtful, honest insights and reflections on their career journeys.

ABCN and Bankwest at Governor Stirling

Defence Force Presentation. 

Kathy Moore, from Swan View SHS, had Defence Force Recruiting come to school to give a presentation to Year 11 & 12 students. 

No alternative text description for this image

For more career opportunities for your students, subscribe to the monthly In Focus Careers News for West Australians 

Pathways from High School powerpoint presentation   Get on track to uni in WA for 2023   Study Coach