Careers Corner

We are back into Term 2 and it’s full-steam-ahead!

The Year 12 VET students are, and will be going on Work Placement over the next couple of weeks.  The Year 12 Construction class have been out this week (2 – 6 May). Thanks to Mid Coast Connect and the many employers for allowing this to happen.  This is an excellent opportunity for the students to learn more of the world of work and often results in job opportunities for each of the students.

The Year 12 Hospitality class are flying to the Gold Coast and will be working at Sea World from Monday, 16 May till Thursday, 20 May inclusive.  Once again this is an excellent opportunity for the students to learn about and experience first-hand the many different aspects of the Hospitality industry.

Year 12 students who are interested in a university pathway post school are reminded to check each university’s website for early application and scholarship information.  UAC has opened and it is great to see some names already in the SRS (School Recommendation Scheme) portal which can assist with early entry.  I will be talking about UAC in our Careers session with Year 12 this week.

Please note that other states do not have their applications open yet (QTAC, VTAC, SATAC) and will open at various stages over the coming months.

Each of the students will receive their UAC guide very soon.  As soon as they arrive at school they will be distributed to the students.  There is a great deal of information in this booklet which can also be accessed from the UAC site:

Job Jump also has a great deal of information with regard to this, so don’t forget to check out the chapters in our Careers Team OneNote.

Students in Year 12 who might be considering careers in medicine or dentistry post school need to register for the “UCAT” (University Clinical Aptitude Test ANZ).

Important UCAT ANZ 2022 Dates

Candidates taking the UCAT ANZ in 2022 for entry to universities in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 should note these key dates (deadline times are in AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time): 

Please log on to the UCAT website for specific information.  There are free practice tests on this website to assist with preparation:

Year 10 are coming up to “subject selection” time for 2023. The mentoring process for these students will begin in the last couple of weeks of this term all going well. Small groups of students are usually mentored by the co-ordinators. Information will be given about the various available subjects, closer to the end of this term.

There is a great deal of information from many of the universities for Year 10 students and their parents and as this comes to hand, I will place it in the Year 10 Team Careers OneNote.

As information comes to hand, I will email the relevant students and I will be putting all information in each Year Group Careers OneNote.  This will relate to apprenticeships, traineeships, job vacancies, university information and open days, TAFE information and scholarships.  There is a tab in the Careers section titled Job Jump which has a great deal of up-to-date information in all things careers.  All the students in Years 10, 11 and 12 have, or will have, access to this.

I would also like to keep encouraging the students to have a draft ‘Cover Letter’ and resume which can be tailored for job applications both part-time and fulltime.  This can be saved in the OneNote and accessed/changed at any time.

This week the Year 11 PDHPE and Year 11 Sports Coaching students completed their Provide First Aid course with Warren Keegan from Coastal First Aid.  This is a very valuable qualification to have, and the students were wonderful as usual.  They will now be able to feel confident when assisting in many different First Aid situations.

Last Friday we were very lucky to have Mr Daniel Trudgeon from Local Land Services come in to talk to Year 12 about career pathways in his organisation.  Thanks very much Daniel, for the very informative and interesting presentation.

If any student is interested in Work Experience, please come and collect the necessary paperwork from me.  The Catholic Schools Office has set guidelines for Work Experience.  Year 9 and Year 10 students have to complete this during school hours, however, Year 11 and Year 12 students can do Work Experience during holiday time or on the weekend.

Karen McCann
Careers/VET Adviser