From the Director of Planning and Organisation, Career Practitioner & VET Coordinator,

Wearing my other hat at St Catherine’s, as the Careers Practitioner, I thought it timely to update you on what has been happening in Term 1, 2017.

First and foremost, the team has been extended to include Miss Sally Wilkinson. For those who do not know, Miss Wilkinson was our VCE coordinator and Year 12 Dean before taking maternity leave in 2016 and is a wonderful asset to the Careers and VCE team. Her experience and personal qualities are very well suited to this role.

We have also launched a new email address for students and parents to make contact with a member of the careers team. Please use future-careers@stcatherines.net.au for all enquiries to either Miss Wilkinson or myself.

The new Careers Resource page on the portal will also be accessible to all students, parents and teachers. A one-stop shop for most commonly asked careers questions, the page will include a wide range of information and resources. Please visit mystcatherines to enhance your understanding of all things ‘Careers’.

Year 9

A small number of Year 9 students have been participating in a pilot program with a major bank, where they are exposed to the number of career options targeting women in technology. At the conclusion of this program, the students will present to the Year 9 cohort, information about their experiences and what they learnt during the program. The girls have a newfound awareness of how stimulating and rewarding working with technology can be and are now more aware of how and where technology can be used in the workplace.

Years 11 and 12

Year 12 girls have all been busy making one-on-one appointments to discuss their goals, aspirations and pathway plans as they begin to contemplate life beyond St Catherine’s School. We have also met with Year 11 students to ensure they are fully aware of opportunities and research tools they should be investigating as they begin work on their Career Action Plans and e-portfolios.

Year 10 Careers Day

During the two-day Careers Festival last week, the Year 10 girls completed the Morrisby Profile, for the first time, online. The girls were immediately able to use some of the information obtained to investigate suitable subjects for VCE and course options beyond.

Students will receive a personalised report of their strengths, skills, interests, personality and work style as well as some career suggestions. This will be available for collection at the parent evening on Tuesday 23 May. Following this, the Year 10s participated in a FAQ session where we discussed prerequisite subjects, bonus subjects, majors, minors and ATAR scores as well as the calculation of the ATAR and scaling, VET subjects and enhancement studies. A number of girls also had questions about interstate and overseas applications, living at college, scholarships and tertiary options.

The workshop, ‘Coaching Young People for Success’, focusing on My life and career pathway plan, included activities that encourage students to learn more about themselves, their own self-development and set realistic and achievable goals that link to School and post-school options. Students reflected on the costs and benefits that they make in trying to achieve goals and carefully consider the emotional support and allies they can access to help them reach their aspirations. Copies of these reflections will be made available to parents and also retained by the Careers Practitioner.

At the conclusion of the day, the girls enthusiastically shared new ideas, aspirations or objectives they had learnt. The breadth of insights shared amongst the group demonstrated that each student was able to consider relevant information and personalise it for themselves.

We will soon follow up by these sessions by introducing students to the main research tools available to help make informed decisions regarding subjects and possible career options. These will include VTAC, VICTER, WIRL, Job outlook, Youth Central and the job guide.

Overall, the Careers Festival is a great opportunity for students to consider job prospects, salaries and how to prepare for a changing world ahead.

Pauline Van Der Poel, Director of Planning and Organisation, Career Practitioner & VET Coordinator