It collates In Focus Careers blog posts, resources and other mind maps for West Australian Year 12s who want to go to uni in 2023.
In January 2020 I was on holiday with my family at a BnB in Dunsborough. We were sitting on the deck overlooking the bush when we first heard about a virus in China that would go on to cause chaos in our lives.
My oldest grandkids were only 9 at the time and they were off in the bush building cubby houses. Their lives were about to be thrown into turmoil.
There is now a bubble of middle school students who may not remember life before COVID. They will not know how middle school students used to engage with life beyond childhood.
We are still creating that “new normal”.
At the Career Teacher Master Class at Murdoch this year, Dr. Chad Morrison explained that:
My 11-year-old grandkids have now started high school in the most disrupted academic year ever experienced in WA. Teachers have been off work with COVID. Relief teachers have tried to cover the gaps. My grandkids have been off school, then got into trouble from relief teachers for not having completed work.
I suspect that any middle school students who had minor social and mental health issues two years ago, will not have had opportunities to engage in activities that would have helped them to work through their issues at their own pace.
Life is tougher for middle school students in 2022.
Teachers are burnt out. They don’t have the energy to build a village that will support middle school students.
Promoting existing services is an easy step that can be taken.
School Chaplains
If you have a wonderful school chaplain, help them to engage with your students.
Community Services
I got in touch with the Department of Communities. They said that:
It takes a village to raise a child
As I am becoming more aware of the bubble of COVID affected middle school students I have written:
In this final post I have a Mentor and Support Services map. I will continue to build that as people let me know of additional services which students can tap into to create their own village.
These opportunities will help students to create their own village as they move into adulthood. Getting started is the toughest step.
I will continue to look for ideas that will help them to make the transition.
Subscribe to In Focus Careers monthly magazine for West Australian schools.
The latest edition of In Focus Careers News is out.
We have a great objective – the light on the hill – which we aim to reach by working the betterment of mankind not only here but anywhere we may give a helping hand. If it were not for that, the Labor movement would not be worth fighting for.
Wikipedia Ben Chifley
It’s not just a different model. It’s a different culture.
In March, UWA, Curtin and Murdoch universtities told career educators about their new courses and priorities for 2022 and beyond.
You can find highlights of those presentations in the April issue of In Focus Careers.
The big trend this year is towards more student centric services. All universities highlighted the new facilities and services that are available to future students.
All universities agreed to wait until 4 April to open their doors to early offers in 2023 but, in March, only Curtin had clarified that they will be directing applicants straight to TISC.
Universities are providing more opportunities for middle school students to explore a wide range of career opportunities through a range of emerging programs. I will continue to report on the new programs as they are announced.
COVID has impacted on the open day schedules at each university. I have put a table of the changes into the April issue.
The WA Education Department has launched a comprehensive schedule of career conversations designed to help families to understand the career options for WA school students. You can find links to these presentations in the April issue.
If you would like your school or organisation to have career information for West Australians delivered to you each month you can subscribe here:
The content was just what our Year 12’s needed, and the timing is perfect.
Students can even take a copy home and watch it with their parents!!
Judy is an academic superstar who checks out the Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) at Curtin, medicine everywhere, and Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) at UWA. 
Predicting the future
Don’t do computer programming. Computers are a passing fad.
Infocus Careers is an independent organisation which is solely supported by insanely great subscribers who share information with me, support each other and help me to pay my bills.
I can talk about careers under water so if you would like to chat about how I can help you to improve your career or the services you deliver, give me a ring on 0434056412 or email me at Bev.J@infocus-careers.com.au
In Focus Careers News gathers and synthesizes the information you need to be the career educator students need.
At a time when we are drowning in information, Bev Johnson gathers and synthesises career information at the right time, thinks critically about what we need and makes wise choices about what goes into her monthly In Focus Careers magazine for West Australian schools.
Bev says;
I am passionate about helping our West Australian kids to win. That is the “why” of what I do.
I call on the goodwill of people I know in education, training, industry and through university studies, for information that helps school leavers to find where they want to belong.
Anyone working in career education appreciates the tsunami of career information that floods in every week. As a former career teacher Bev knows how easy it is to be misled by the smoke of mirrors of big business advertising machines.
She focused on clarifying information and delivering career information that schools can trust.
Subscribe to In Focus Careers to become the expert students need you to be when guiding them to their future careers.
West Australian students can keep up to speed with the latest career opportunities. The March issue of In Focus Careers News is out.
To keep up with career opportunities for school students, subscribe to In Focus Careers
