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.
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.
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.
For more career opportunities for your students, subscribe to the monthly In Focus Careers News for West Australians
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.
Early Offers
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.
Middle School Programs
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.
Open Day Changes
COVID has impacted on the open day schedules at each university. I have put a table of the changes into the April issue.
Career Conversation Schedule
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.
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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.
This 30-minute Pathways from High Schoolpresentation with video is a great alternative to the face-to-face presentations as it can be shown to students and families, at any time.
Students can even take a copy home and watch it with their parents!!
Don’t be ridiculous!!
3Pathways
It shows 3 different case studies.
Pathway 1: Judy the academic superstar
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.
Pathway 2: Flynn General ATAR, Alternative Pathway
Flynn is looking for alternative pathways for non-ATAR school leavers. He checks out all of the unis, looks at university preparation courses and seeks advice from career counsellors and Centrelink.
Pathway 3: Angie VET and Gap Year
For those wanting a Gap Year, who never to return to full-time study again. Angie looks at the Defence Gap Year program and at Harvest Trail as well as at some on the job training she can do at McDonald’s and online courses.
I recommend that all students seek professional advice that narrows down to their personal choices, once they have a general idea of which direction they want to take.
Career education isn’t social work and it isn’t psychology. If you are not an expert in the world of career practice, it could be more damaging than fortune telling.
Predicting the future
There is a world of specialist career practitioner theory and skills that underpin successful career practice. As you work your way towards becoming a Career Professional via an academic pathway, these tips will help you to lead students to their best career.
Don’t do computer programming. Computers are a passing fad.
1990’s Phys Ed Teacher/Career Advisor to high school student in Geraldton
You can’t wing it as a career advisor. People believe you are the expert. People believe what you say. A flippant comment or ill informed advice from you can change lives. This student did not follow his dream into a career in computer programming.
You have a personal responsibility to be the expert, to KNOW where to look for the right information.
Empower yourself through professional learning
As you do your academic studies you will learn skills and theories that frame your professional work. In the meantime, the world of work in 2022 is very different to that in 2019.
Go to conferences and professional learning opportunities.
Join a professional organisation like Career Educators WA or the Career Development Association of Australia.
Keep up with Labour Market Information figures.
We keep being told that we will have lots of jobs and several different industries but the research DOES NOT support this.
We are clinging to what we know and people are NOT changing jobs at a faster rate than we have ever known.
Nor are they trapped in casual jobs, (although that figure may be distorted by labour hire agencies that have workers on their books and outsource them to workplaces, and “self employed” casuals, like Uber drivers).
Network like a Pro
You cannot possibly be an expert in all industries and across all regions.
Identify your specialisation and tell others… “I’m an expert in sport careers. If you want to know something ask me”.
Tap into the expertise of others so that you can call on them.
Join the CDAA WA Facebook page.
Come to CDAA WA breakfasts each month. You don’t need to be a CDAA member to attend.
Join the CDAA online chat each month. Again, you don’t need to be a member. You can find details on the CDAA Events calendar.
Find experts in your region. They may be in the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry or business group.
Listening through the Shock
If you are over 25 you must become conscious of how different your lived experience is to that of young people.
We don’t know how young people are coping with shocks like COVID, war and global warming.
You must develop a deep appreciation of how much things have changed, you must listen, empathise and question until you understand.
Research
Everyone, from the OECD andWorld Economic Forum, is trying to help people to make rational, data driven career decisions.
There is so much change flickering into view. Career advisors must be able to discriminate between the latest bright, new, shiny thing, and a substantial initiative that could deliver a lifetime of career satisfaction.
Actively study the research. Join mailing lists so that you get regular research updates.
Keep up to speed with what is happening in the world of careers in WA.
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
Parents and Year 7 students may stumble over high school language.