The Barbreck Careers Day is part of our Ambassador Program, a unique program supporting girls in Years 5 and 6 to develop skills for leadership and future success.  

The Careers Day aims to highlight a broad range of careers to the girls and showcase what each of the careers entails. The Day also highlights some of the career skills they could be developing whilst in Barbreck. 

Our first Careers Day was held on 1 June this Term. During the Day, the girls heard from the following presenters: 

• Mr John Tabbagh – Television Producer of shows such as Rove, Rove Live, Hard Quiz and Front Line 
• Mrs Liz West – Beauty Product Developer, formerly with Mecca, developing such ranges as Mecca’s Kit Range. Now has own business ‘Font of Beauty.’ 
• Mrs Bronwyn Cox – Speech Pathologist servicing many school children in our area. 

Our thanks go to these wonderful presenters for their time, effort, and honest approach to representing their career pathways.  

All our presenters shared their wealth of experience, discussed avenues for careers one could take in their field of expertise or industry, and provided great advice to the girls on the skills and attitudes they needed to consider in their careers. 

An example of this was from Mr Tabbagh. He said if you want to get into television careers to be famous or meet famous people – don’t! If you have a love of creating videos, writing scripts, editing work or graphic design – then consider a career in television. 

Mrs West spoke of loving to make lip glosses when she was young and how following her passion led to her career, after completing a Degree in Commercial Law. 

Mrs Cox spoke of the extensive fields in which speech pathologists work. From hospitals helping stroke patients learn to swallow and speak again to helping children better express themselves. 

Each of our presenters spoke passionately about their career and the enjoyment and sense of achievement they gain from their work. 

While many might ask why we are looking at career development in the Barbreck years, it is important to note that not all skills for a successful career are achieved through a degree, and not everyone who has a degree succeeds in their chosen career.  

Those who are highly successful in their careers, apart from being well qualified, all share a common skill set that sets them apart from their peers. These skills are highlighted on our Careers Day. 

Every speaker identified the following skills as necessary to succeed in their careers: 

• Being an active listener and being a good communicator 
• Being highly organised and able to manage time well 
• Having a good work ethic and meeting commitments or expectations 
• Being creative 
• Having good ability to collaborate and work well with a wide range of people 
• Being passionate about what you do 
• Having a positive and determined attitude 
• Being able to set goals and work towards them 
• Bouncing back from setbacks 

In Barbreck we are actively teaching and encouraging these skills through our Wellbeing Program and life within Barbreck. They are also skills that girls can work on while at school; they are part of the wider curriculum at Barbreck.  

At the end of each presentation the girls were provided with the opportunity to ask questions, and we were all very impressed by the calibre of the questions asked.  

Our next Careers Day will be held on 1 August. The girls will hear presentations from a plastic surgeon, an architect, a veterinarian, and a sports medicine doctor.  

At St Catherine’s we want the very best for our girls. Career and skill development starts in the early years of Barbreck so that when our girls graduate from St Catherine’s, they will be best prepared to succeed in their chosen career path.  

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