Careers & Vet Information
Careers Corner
I would like to start off this chapter of Careers Corner with a plea to students to check their emails. I have been made aware of many different post school opportunities (and SBAT information), especially to do with apprenticeships and traineeships and have emailed this information to students. Unfortunately, there has been no response to many of these emails. There are many opportunities available and it seems such a pity that many of these get ignored. This is especially so when students often say to me that “I just want to get a job” or “School is not the place for me”.
TAFE Taster YES Program
This year we are once again invited to take part in the TAFE Taster “YES” program. YES stands for Youth Engagement Strategy and involves Year 10 students who might be considering a TAFE pathway (either fulltime or TVET) in 2022. It is open to Year 10 students and involves attending TAFE one day a week in Term 2 and school the other four days. There is no cost for the student.
We are quite restricted this year and can only have one student per course per school. Taree Campus are running Auto, Hair & Beauty and Bush Kindy (Childcare). Forster are running Social Media & Marketing and Beauty.
I sent an email to Year 10 a couple of weeks ago and we have our student for Auto. All registrations are due today Friday, 19 March. Hopefully there will be more interest if the program runs in Term 4.
Explore Charles Sturt University Day
On Wednesday, 10 March, a group of 20 Year 11 and Year 12 students travelled by bus to Port Macquarie to attend the Explore Charles Sturt University day.
We departed at 9 am and arrived at Charles Sturt University Port Macquarie campus at 10 am. We all went through the COVID Safe check-in and attended various sessions throughout the day. The students had to pre-register and there was a limit of 20 students per session to comply with COVID-Safe regulations.
The students were able to choose sessions from the following:
- Criminal Justice;
- Policing & Law;
- Physiotherapy;
- Psychology;
- Environmental Science and Management;
- Paramedicine;
- Nursing;
- Occupational Therapy;
- Social Work;
- Computer Science and Information;
- Exercise & Sports Sciences;
- Campus Tour; and
- “All Things Charles Sturt”
From all reports, the students thought that the day was very informative and well worth the trip. Many of the students feel that they have a bit more focus for their studies now which is excellent.
Some of the comments on the day were:
“The Open Day was great and allowed us to see what courses consist of” - Jade
“I liked how the day talked about the courses specifically and not just about Uni life” - Mikayla
“The day was excellent!! I was able to experience what University life is like at CSU and ask questions to further my knowledge on my chosen subjects as well as take a look at the lovely accommodation that is available…” - Cooper
“I really enjoyed the Charles Sturt explore day. It made me realise what degree I want to specialise in and what degree I might not enjoy so much” - Hannah
“I think that the visit to Charles Sturt was very fun and informative” - Luca
It was a pleasure to be with our students on the day and they were wonderful ambassadors for St Clare’s. The CSU staff there were really impressed with the students coming through and commented on how polite and cheerful they all were.
Manning Regional Health Education Centre
On Tuesday, 16 March, a group of 16 Year 11 and Year 12 students travelled to the Manning Regional Health Education Centre to gain an insight into what is involved in several different Health Careers.
Normally we would take 30-40 students, however, COVID has severely restricted our numbers. The session was run quite differently to past years and the students rotated around three different sessions:
- Lab 1 involved a look at the ED department and the many different health personnel involved in this.
- Lab 2 involved a paediatric case study with 4-year-old Basil. The Paediatric Nursing staff, Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist, Physio and Nutritionist all played a part in his care.
- Lab 3 was an “education” session and information about the various pathways into health careers and gave the students a look at their many options post school.
The staff were very impressed with our students and I received many comments about how polite and enthusiastic they all were. Congratulations to all of you and hopefully you will have more information to help with your post-school options.
The latest information from CAA is as follows:
Course Changes, Updates and New Courses/Providers
RIGHT SKILLS, RIGHT NOW. FEE-FREE* JOBTRAINER SHORT COURSES For Year 11 students who are over 17 years, JobTrainer can provide them with fee-free* short courses, all targeted at sectors identified as growth areas. New courses are being added all the time. Find out more:
Courses, Workshops and Information Sessions for Students
From Science Fiction to Science Fact Year 9-10 students will hear from real STEM researchers on transforming science fiction technology into reality. They then brainstorm, create a prototype and pitch their own entrepreneurial creations to their peers and STEM experts for a chance to win cash prizes! The program is virtual and discounts for 30+ groups.
Infinite Pathways - Maths Careers Inspire your students to consider mathematics as a part of their future study and career pathways. Year 9 & 10 students will get to hear from top, current mathematicians about how they got to where they are today and their hottest research work. Virtual days on 8 March and 12 May, $100 per school.
UAC
I am including a section on UAC for Year 12 as UAC opens on 1 April. I will also email this information to the students in the coming days.
UAC is the Universities Administration Centre and any student wishing to attend university post-school should register with UAC which opens on 1 April 2020. This costs $70 if you register before 30 September and $200 if you register after 30 September.
UAC PIN and Applying
Year 12 students will receive their UAC PIN via email when applications open on 1 April. Although we are expecting more courses than last year to be available from April for students to list on their application, some institutions will be waiting until later in the year. Students would then make changes to their preference list later in the year once their chosen courses become available.
Students must use their Year 12 student number (NESA Number) and UAC PIN to apply so that they can be identified as a Year 12 student. If students don’t use their student number when applying they will not appear on the school’s data spreadsheet available on “School Hub”.
I will be talking to the students about this in the coming weeks before the end of Term.
Work Experience
Please do not forget that if you are interested in doing Work Experience you need to come and see me to collect the paperwork. Year 11 and Year 12 can do this at any time provided it does not clash with exams etc. Years 9 and 10 have to complete this during school terms.
Karen McCann
Careers/VET Adviser