Careers Corner

We are certainly back into the full swing of things here at School.  The Year 11 and 12 students have had the opportunity to learn about University as a pathway, through the Country University Roadshow which was hosted at Chatham High on Thursday, 11 February.  This was an excellent opportunity for the students to learn about what is involved in going to university.

On Friday, 12 February, Year 12 remained at school for a Careers Day while the rest of the students attended the Swimming Carnival.  They checked their NESA information, started to complete a resume, listened to some guest speakers and were encouraged to think about possible pathways post-school.  Ainslee, from VERTO (Apprenticeship and Traineeship provider), took us through the process of registering through Careergate and how to access the aptitude tests.  She stressed the importance of a good resume and cover letter.  There is also help available to all the students through VERTO.  The students enjoyed pizzas for lunch!

A huge thank you to Mrs Avery and Mr Masters for their assistance on the day.  It was lovely to have you there.  A special thank you goes to Mrs Rowsell who spoke about Trade pathways.  The students were very impressed with this information.

Jack Wood (School Captain 2019) came to talk to the students about his post-school pathway and had many words of wisdom for the current Year 12 cohort.  Thanks so much Jack for giving up your time to be with us.

It is extremely important that all students have up-to-date resumes for at least two different choices of career.  This can be done via Job Jump, My Future, My Future Finder (UNE) and “Word”.  We will continue to develop these in the coming weeks in our Careers sessions on Tuesdays Period 3.

The Year 10, 11 and 12 students have access to their own Careers OneNote and I am encouraging them to keep PINs, passwords, resumes etc. here.  There is also a copy of a Careers Booklet which I would like the Year 12 students to complete over the course of this year.  This can be done in hard copy or on OneNote.  This will help me to help the students.

There is a copy of my timetable up on my office door with blank spots when I can talk to students, so please, ladies and gentlemen, check it out and come and see me at some stage.

Finally, thanks to all the students who stayed, for your input and great behaviour on the day.

It was a little disappointing that a number of students left after the NESA information session.  They missed out on important careers information.  I have students asking for information about post-school pathways all the time and this is always a great opportunity to find out more about Apprenticeships, Traineeships, Universities and other post-school pathways.  We also touch on coping strategies and the importance of working together as the year progresses.

It is very important that all the students gain as much information as possible about the many post-school pathways so that they have options at the end of their schooling.

Please remember to check the Careers section of the school website for information about university days, apprenticeship and traineeship information and the latest information from Job Jump.

On Wednesday, 3 February, 20 Year 10 and Year 11 students (19 males, 1 female) completed their White Card at St Clare’s.  We were very lucky to have Kiel from “Men at Work” deliver the course to the students.  These courses have to be delivered face-to -ace in NSW for the card to be valid and all students who wish to work or do Work Experience in the Construction industry must have a valid White Card.

It was my very great pleasure to accompany 13 of our Year 11 Sports Coaching class to Gloucester where they assisted at the Manning Regional Primary School Swimming Carnival.  St Joey’s Taree provided the transport – thanks to Lisa Bourke for organising this.

The students were amazing, and everyone has sung their praises!  Thank you for being such wonderful ambassadors for St Clare’s.  It was a pleasure to be with you on the day.  Most of the students have now completed 12 hours of their 70 compulsory Work Placement hours which is excellent.

I would like to remind everyone about Work Experience.  Please come and see me if you would like to do this.

Karen McCann
Careers/VET Adviser