The Young Women in Industry Program offers our girls early exposure to the wide variety of career pathways available. It provides students with the opportunity to explore and understand the broad industries that are accessible to them including property, finance, law and technology.

On Tuesday 30 March, our Year 9 Finance, Business and Entrepreneurship classes engaged in Part 1 of the Dexus Future Leaders in Property Program at Dexus Place in Melbourne.

The Year 9 students heard from a panel of experts in the Property Industry, ranging from Marketing, Property Valuers, Construction, Design, Leasing and Property Development.

Through the program, these experts shared their journey into the Property Industry coming from Civil Engineering, Carpentry, Nursing, Design and Commerce. Our students viewed a new build at 80 Collins Street, Melbourne, where they saw a finished product and learned what goes into the different stages of a property venture.

Students enjoyed designing an office space of the future, on the yet to be designed, 14th Floor of 80 Collins Street. They created their dream work space including functional work spaces to break out spaces and a few fun elements, stemming from their experience in the Learn@Home Program in 2020. These ideas included, a green space, slide, places for animals, workout spaces and some comforts from home.

Our students are enthusiastic to learn more about Property in our Industry based Partnership with Dexus. Providing students with the hands-on exposure to networking with industry partners is designed to open students’ minds and support them to shape their future.

Mrs Gina Peele, Director of Student Programs, shares with us. “This experience will provide them with the confidence to pursue a career in architecture, engineering or marketing. They are going to be more informed and actually take a greater interest in what they are walking into. The best way to instigate change and see more female representation in this male-dominated industry is by providing real-life exposure to the workplace through university and industry partnerships. We want to inspire our young women to be strong future leaders. It’s really exciting, the girls are loving it.’’

Sienna Rigg, Year 9 “I learnt about the wide variety of careers within the property industry, like designing, building, architecture, finance, marketing and valuing. It was also quite interesting to see the amount of effort required for purely one sale or commission. I enjoyed the food a lot, being able to hear some of the top personnel in the industry speak in the panel, seeing what a functioning, industry-leading office looks like and being able to attempt to design our own workspace in the South Tower. I want to learn more about how deals are constructed and signed between large-scale projects, and the scale of the budget and manpower required.”

Amy Ding Year 9 “I learnt about the process that goes into property, such as designing, developing and leasing. I also found out that many different people work in the property industry, and they work together to convince other people to rent their area. I enjoyed listening to the panel of people about what they individually did to contribute. I want to learn more about what factors they need to take into account to design the interior of a property.”