In Focus Careers

Creating insanely great career education in Western Australia.

Tag Archives: Career Teachers


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4 Things Your Careers Teacher Gets Right

1. They Care More 

No other teacher cares as much about what you are going to do when you leave school.

Well, that isn’t strictly true. Teaching isn’t just a job. Mainstream teachers care about what their students plan to do…  but their main responsibility is to get students to learn maths, or physics or geography.

The role of a careers teacher is much more important than that!!!

It is the role of the careers teacher to guide students as they unearth their best possible pathway to follow as they leave school. That is their passion. That is what they care about more than any other teacher.

They have a toolbox of aptitude tests and quizzes and exercises and exploration tasks that will help to guide you to your best possible future.

Hear your dream 2Check this Coggle Map to start your own exploring.

2. They know about university degrees

Not only has your career teacher got first hand experience of being a university student, they have kept up their knowledge.

Every year all of the West Australian universities run professional development programs for careers teachers.

These are wonderful relaxing days where careers teachers are pampered, indulged and spoilt as they are given all of the information they could need to recommend THAT PARTICULAR university to hundreds of prospective students.

Cat

These days out are organised by university careers staff who form a close relationship with school based careers teachers. If ever your teacher doesn’t know something about a course, they just ring their friendly uni based career advisor and get the answer for you.

3. They know about apprenticeships and traineeships

This pathway has sometimes been a bit tricky for careers teachers. While many teachers have vocational qualifications they often do these courses part time so don’t have experience as a full time TAFE student.

Once the mining boom came along employers needed trade and technical skills quickly so TAFE courses came into high demand from school leavers. As the digital economy has pushed up the demand for rapid skills acquisition, long theoretical degree programs have been challenged by short, just in time vocational courses.

Careers teachers struggle to keep up with the massive changes that are taking place across all industries so they hook up students who want an apprenticeship or traineeship with experts in the Australian Apprenticeship Support Network .

Apprenticeships and traineeships

This Coggle map gives an overview of how to get an apprenticeship or traineeship. Get more information at This is How You Get an Apprenticeship in WA.

For students wondering about technical or health para professional careers they now hook them up with careers staff or expert lecturers via the Jobs and Skills Centres which started up last year.

Your careers teachers are the kings and queens of networking. They will know who will know the answer to your question.

4. They know about job application and interview skills

There was a woman at the Skills Expo last year telling everyone they were doing their job applications all wrong. They should buy her special  job application course if they ever wanted to get a job.

That just isn’t true.

Careers teachers know what employers are looking for and give you at least ONE good way of writing a job application and cover letter.

They set up mock interview and do their best to make you anxious so that you know what it is like to go for a real job interview.

This is a career teachers fundamental toolkit. They know this stuff and they teach it.

Despite all of that hard work preparing students to go for jobs, employers complain about bad spelling, poor sentences, lack of care, not answering the questions…… yadda yadda.

Career teachers are able to give you all the knowledge and skills you need to write a good job application and do a fair interview. Learn from your school based careers teacher. You don’t have to pay a fortune.

If you would like to do a job application and interview course check out your local Jobs and Skills Centre. They run free courses and will give you one on one support. You don’t have to be thinking of a TAFE course to go to these Centres.

Go to your careers teacher for free advice as soon as possible

Give your careers teacher every chance to help you to unearth what is possible. Go to see them early and follow their advice.

If you have a strong bond with  a year or VET coordinator, or student services teacher you can go to them. Having great rapport with a wise teacher you trust is important. They can consult the professional careers teacher for information and support as you work towards your goal.

Poor career choices can cost you time and money, but more than that. Poor career choices can leave you feeling lost and depressed.

Take your career exploration and discovery seriously while you are in the familiar, supportive school environment with teachers who care about you.

Discovering your dream career could be your reward.

In Focus Careers Newsletter

Get career information from a network of insanely great West Australian career professionals:

Testimonial:

Thanks for the latest e-mail Bev, and for all the information and inspiring ideas over the year. Since I have become a part of  the(In Focus Careers) network I have grown in knowledge and motivation to really make a difference for our young people. 

(South West Regional 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

M: 0434 056 412

Email: Bev.J@infocus-careers.com.au


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You Need a Plan

Math teacher smiling

When you leave school your English (maths, history) teacher has finished their job.  They helped you to get the best education in their field.

That’s it.

There is no one on the other side of the school gate to make sure you succeed.

Career Advisors Have Done it All Before

teacher female close upIt is the career advisors job to know what is possible. They have guided hundreds of students to discover what is possible and plan how to get there. They love helping students.

Their secret power is that they care about your future.

If you don’t have a career advisor to help you, go to a Jobs and Skills Centre and ask for help. It’s free.

 

Don’t leave school without a plan

coggle-map-3

Tap into all of the free support and advice that your school has to offer so that you have a plan with you when you leave school.

Tap into support from your career advisor, pastoral care officer, year coordinator… whoever you get along with. Ask them for help to develop a plan. Keep going until you are happy with your plan.

Getting on the Uni Bus

Many school leavers go to uni because they don’t know what else to do.

Uni career advisors come to school. They tell you how wonderful their uni is. They hold out their hand and say,  “Come with me”.

The TISC application arrives.

Fullscreen capture 28082017 70902 PM.bmp

So you all get on the uni bus.

You can check how much that ride will cost you HERE.

Do your research and work with an expert career advisor before you lock yourself in.

Some go to TAFE

needle-in-a-haystack-1752846_1920There are so many VET courses and variations on courses that finding the ideal one for you is like finding a needle in a haystack.

The new Jobs and Skills Centres aren’t just for VET courses. They deliver a guiding light to students who don’t know what to do when they leave school.

Having a Gap Year

The fear of the unknown often stops students choosing a gap year. Those who do make this choice often choose an organised program that supports them into their future.

Find information on taking a gap year HERE.

Ask your career advisor what gap year program will suit your personality and future plans.

Getting a Job

Statistics 1The only problem with getting a job without planning to do any further study is that you are locking yourself into the lowest paid sector or the workforce.

Get a job, sure but do a Certificate III part time after school to set yourself up for a bigger income and more career choices.

Ask your career advisor what part time courses you can take to improve your future career.

In Focus Careers Newsletter

Discover your world of possibilities with a monthly dose of insanely great career news and information:

 

Testimonial

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 careers teachers and 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
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Bev Johnson

M: 0434 056 412

Email: Bev.J@infocus-careers.com.au

 

 

 


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Looking for Information from VETiS Teachers

Teachers have lots of sites where they share teaching questions. There is also an Education Department (and Catholic and Independent School) focus on quality of teaching. Is there anything similar for VET?

The closure of VET in Schools Consulting Services has shone a light on how tough life is for VETiS teachers and ALL VET teachers.

I rarely hear VET professionals discusing pedagogy (andragogy, heutagogy). All discussion seems to focus on just surviving under the enormous work pressure, that is at least partially due to the significant compliance demands.

By looking at the Department of Training and Workforce Development latest annual report it looks like there is no teaching or learning expertise in the senior management. You can see that the Executive Director has a significant background in Consumer Protection which sounds like a compliance role. There is financial management and financial compliance expertise and expertise in developing strategic policy and in accounting. Nothing there about teaching or learning.

Annual Report

Even DTWD advisory partners aren’t education experts. The Training Accreditation Council is concerned with compliance and the State Training Board is concerned that the Department is focused on industry needs.

No education best practice gets a look in.

I write a careers newsletter for schools and hear the grievances and barriers faced by VET teachers at the coalface.

I would love to hear from anyone who knows of infrastructure, or sites or even tips that would help those involved in VET delivery to focus more on teaching and less on compliance demands.

Contact me to get a complimentary copy of the In Focus Careers Newsletter:

 

 

 


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Getting together with employers – the Prenup

Your students need to get out more.

Your local council (bakery/architect/hospital) is willing to take on kids for work experience (mentoring/project collaboration).

You are about to form a partnership to give kids this great opportunity.

Harmony 1

STOP!! 

Before you walk into the sunset together…. What about a prenup?

It is best to talk about your prenup with your future partner while things are good.

Things WILL go wrong. The kids will play up or break things. The employer will be away. Duty of care won’t be taken care of.

A prenup on the back of an envelop is better than nothing.

Your prenup should consider:

  • Who is responsible for what and at what quality.
  • How the partnership is to be managed.
  • If there are any legal issues, like duty of care.
  • If there are any costs and who should pay for them.
  • What IT platforms are you going to use to share information.

If you would like to discuss how to write your prenup email me: Bev.J@infocus-careers.com.au

To stay up to date with careers events and news subscribe to the In Focus Careers Newsletter.

 

 

 


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Careers in Grain Expo Offer to Schools

Western Australia probably grows more grain than… practically anyone….. and there are jobs in everything from international marketing to scientific research to fencing.

Western Australia is a world leader in grain agriculture. There are scholarships and many training pathways into the industry. 

The Careers in Grain people sent through this message:

Last year, we attended 30 different school and university events and look forward to building on the momentum and meeting even more students and job seekers. Be sure to let us know if you hear of any events that you’d love to see us at!

Contact Kayla Evans  to invite her to your school career expo. 

Bust Small 72dpiIf you would like to reach thousands of Western Australian school students with information about careers in your industry, let me know. 

I will share your information in the monthly In Focus Careers Newsletter that goes out to over 100 West Australian high schools. 

If you would like to see a complimentary copy of the newsletter please let me know. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Career Professionals Site Map

February 2019

This mind map is of the main Australian careers sites. 

Useful Sites

Coggle Map of Useful Careers Websites

A number of people requested a copy of this Coggle Map that I put together last year. I have updated it and I am happy to send you a link to it. I contacted Coggle and they don’t have the capacity to put links into a Word document or a WordPress site yet but if you email me I will send you a link to this map.


Email me and I will give you access to the map. Contact me to subscribe to the In Focus Careers Newsletter.

 

 

 

 


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Innovation and Entrepreneurship are a Con

rubbishIf you don’t have a job or are paid low wages clearly you aren’t being innovative and entrepreneurial enough!!!

REALLY!!??

While young people have enthusiasm and ideas being innovative and entrepreneurial also requires:

  • KNOWING how to do that.
  • Leadership.
  • Support.
  • Resources…. money, infrastructure, networks, systems.

(See Harvard Business Review for some thoughts on this.)

Key complaints from young Australians about unemployment are…

 

Complaints V Reasons

          Young Australians                                                     Explanation

1. Young Australians complain that they can’t get a job……..

 

 Youth unemployment has rarely been higher
2. Young Australians complain about low wages….

 

 Contract work like Deliveroo and Air Tasker…. deliver 3rd World salaries and conditions in Australia.
3. Young Australians complain that they don’t have the experience required for get paid work ……..

 

 No other group volunteers as much as millennials.
4. Young Australians complain about unpaid internships that go on for months… Interns often do work that could be done by a paid employee.

Young Australians are at the pointy end of the fourth industrial revolution. You can:

  • Create paid opportunities to learn on the job… like apprenticeships??
  • Replace unpaid internships with a fair wage.
  • Value their unique enthusiasm and ideas.
  • Not expect them to be able to earn you money on DAY 1.

THAT is a better solution that takes the onus off the kids to be like Steve Jobs and become a billionaire from their garage.

Refocus on giving kids a fair go. Employability skills don’t trickle down. New employees don’t magically know how to add value to your business.

Be there for them. It’s your turn to give back.


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21st Century Trends for Career Advisors

We need to become Super Heroes… It’s the only answer.

If Careers Advisors are to have any credibility as economic, social and work systems revolutionise….. we need to become Super Heroes.

The World Economic Forum engages the best brains in the world to shape our future. Its predictions about issues impacting the lives of career counsellors can be seen in this short video. Slide 220 years ago the life of a Careers Counsellor was easy. Girls became nurses and teachers and boys built things. Once they got their jobs they stayed in them for a long time. Slide 4There was enough change going on for the life of a Careers Counsellor to be interesting. We knew enough about TAFE and uni and the world of work to give useful advice that matched clients’ abilities and aptitudes.

 

Our work was satisfying.Slide 5It was easy to be amazing.

Slide 6

Then things changed….

Just as we were getting a handle on IT and its impact on our lives along came a tsunami of  innovation that is blurring the lines between the physical and the digital.

Slide 7

Sorting out authentic research from headline grabbing predictions of doom leaves the 2018 Careers Counsellor in an uncertain world.

Providing the right information at the right time so that people can think critically and make wise career choices about their future path is increasingly difficult.

Slide 9

Three Perspectives 

The following three perspectives are designed to provide a framework for evolving and providing leadership as Career Advisors.  Slide y

Perspective #1 – Change is Manageable

Maile Carnegie is simply awesome. She used to be head of Google in Australia and has recently moved to the ANZ Bank. She soothes that while there is a lot of change happening… it is manageable.

She reinforces the Foundation for Young Australian’s line that building skills is a constant endeavour. If we focus on building our skills through our jobs that will give us a path to follow.

She also points out that while there is going to be 10% of jobs disappear in the foreseeable future, we are also going to lose 6% of the workforce through a retirement boom.

4% change is disruptive… but not unmanageable

Slide 11Perspective #2 – Education Archetypes

Perspective #2 is something that a bunch of us came up with at a workshop at enkel... which is a group of change makers in Perth.

Through a pretty impressive workshop process, futurist Adam Jorlen had us come up with 4 different archetypes for the Future of Education.

The more I work with these archetypes the more useful I find them.

Slide 12Expert – Self

The Expert – Self quadrant describes a traditional education model. This is what we all used to. The expert has mastery of the information and the learner accepts it.

Slide 13Expert – Society

In the second quadrant we still have the expert leader but the focus of the education is to create a better world.

We have always had religious leaders in this sphere and more recently Mandela and Germaine Greer have led us out of the wilderness. More recent leaders are Jeremy Corbyn and  Bernie Sanders.

Finding meaning and doing valuable work is a strong trend with millennials who are looking for leaders to learn from. Slide 14Self – Network

The third quadrant that we identified was the individual using their network to learn. This isn’t new. We have always learned from those around us.

The change is that people are using technology to hack their way into information and skills and manage their own learning.Slide 15Society – Network

We thought the final quadrant was the fastest growing trend. This one is about tapping into and collaborating across our networks to become activists and make the world a better place. Career Advisors can no longer be the Expert. Change is happening too fast.

The challenge for Careers Advisors it to learn how to transition from their Expert role into other useful and important roles.

Slide 17

The final perspective is on different roles that you can take as change is happening around us.

Protectors

The Protectors are those who safeguard the status quo. They are those who have the most to lose from any change.

Hospice Workers

Hospice workers support the dying system even though they recognise what is going on.

Trailblazers

Trailblazers are those who try to do new stuff.

Illuminators

Illuminators are those who tell everyone about the new stuff.

Slide 18

This model can help Career Advisors to clarify for themselves where they want to focus their efforts. Slide 20

So there you have it, three different perspectives that may help you to evolve and lead as Career Advisors.

Slide y

If we are going to ride this wave of change we need to consciously and deliberately seek opportunities to be heroes together.

There are organisations that we can support each other through or start your own. Slide 21I found this really cool quote though enkel. It resonated as a perfect description for what I am trying to do as a careers practitioner. Slide 22For Careers Practitioners to evolve as leaders in career development we are going to have to become Super Synthesizers. 

 

Slide 23

Presentation to the 2018 West Australian Careers Conference – Notre Dame University 13th February