Careers Corner

HNEH Health Careers Forum

On Tuesday, 7 March, 22 students, Mrs Nicole Lovern and myself attended the HNEH Rural Education centre for the annual Health Careers Forum for students in this area.

It was an excellent excursion and a great opportunity to find out about the many different careers in health that are available post school.  There were a series of different presentations which showed a couple of different health scenarios and the many different health practitioners involved in each situation.  Each practitioner then gave information about the pathways into each career and what opportunities are available within those.

There was then an opportunity for the students to talk to each of the different practitioners and find out more about each one.

The students were a pleasure to accompany and certainly impressed the staff at the HNEH Centre.  Thanks to Mrs Lovern for giving up her time to come with us.

White Card

On Thursday, 16 March 17 students will be completing their White Card at St Clare’s.  This was supposed to occur on Friday, 10 March, but had to be postponed due to registration issues with Safe Work NSW.  This will be conducted by Learning Live and enables the students to do Work Experience, Work Placement and to actually work in the Construction Industry.

The latest information from the CAA is as follows:

Course Changes & New Courses

ACU’s new Bachelor of Arts / Masters of Teaching (Secondary) course

An initial teacher education course, this new double degree is fast-tracked so students will be able to graduate with an undergraduate degree and a postgraduate teaching qualification in just four years. Find out more:

Courses & Workshops for Students

National Institute of Education (NIE): Simulated UCAT Day

Attention Yr. 10, 11 and 12: UCAT Preparation Workshop (live online interactive). The National Institute of Education is conducting a full-day UCAT Preparation Workshop on 5 March 2023 (9am-5pm). To register: visit

For further enquiries please contact NIE at enquiries@nie.edu.au or call (02) 4367 0404 / 0404 197 178 /

NIE: 11 Day Career Experience for School Students in Sydney

Medicine, Psychology, Engineering, Business Management, Creative Writing, International Relations, Veterinary Studies 3 - 13 Jan 2024 at the University of Sydney for students 13 - 18 years of age. Enquiries: (02) 4367 0404 or mob. 0412 439 115 / enquiries@nie.edu.au All details following via the link:

Subject-specific HSC Seminars (Year 11 & 12)

A series of live and online seminars are being held on Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th March at Macquarie University. Hear from expert HSC teachers in the following subjects: English (Advanced & Standard), Mathematics (Advanced & Standard 2), Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Legal Studies, PDHPE & Physics. Learn more at

JMC Academy High School Competitions

JMC Academy are launching their 2023 competitions - The Mocktails, The Canvas Art Award and Song writing Competition! The competitions are open to Year 9 - 12 students. For more information, please go to

Resources for Students

Request ACU’s new course guide

Want to know what courses ACU offers? Complete a publication request to get the 2024 Undergraduate Course Guide delivered to you. Digital versions of the guide are also available for you and your students. Request a hard copy now

NIE: UCAT and Interview Preparation Resources and Services

NIE is Australia’s oldest and most reputable training organisation in the industry, providing assistance to medical applicants, students, parents, and teachers. Contact details: enquiries@nie.edu.au call (02) 4367 0404 / 0404 197 178 / www.nie.edu.au For resources and training services visit:

On-campus residential for regional Year 12 students – April Holidays! (The University of Sydney)

Regional Year 12 students on an ATAR pathway are encouraged to register for the April Residential. Dates: Mon 17 – Fri 21 (travel on Monday and Friday). This will be an immersive experience where students participate in workshops and information sessions to plan and prepare for HSC studies, navigate study options and experience the University of Sydney student life. Register now:

Sydney College of the Arts Tours - The University of Sydney

Interested in a guided tour of the Sydney College of the Arts studio facilities, workshops and labs? Book for the last Thursday of each month starting at 4pm. To book a tour, contact sca.enquiries@sydney.edu.au For more information, visit:

Information Sessions for Students & Parents

Engineering: the best, good news story ever! Panel session

7th March 9.45-11.30am Career Advisers, Teachers & Parents can find out more from current Student, Graduate & Professional Engineers as part of Women's Week! Why Engineering is the best news story for your female & non-binary students, and children!! Online or at Powerhouse Museum– or leave a question for the panel! Session will be recorded. Register:

Western Sydney University

The upcoming Discover Western Webinars kick off from 1 to 29 March. Learn about the range of study options Western offers with a focus on a specific area of study across the series. Each webinar will include virtual access into the facilities on campus. Register now:

ICMS

Year 10 Subject Selection Evening 16 June, 2023, 6pm – 8pm - Parents, teachers & students in Year 10 are invited to join this info session. Gain tips for admission from a representative of UAC, chat to current ICMS students, and have your questions answered by members of the Domestic Development Team. Express your interest in attending to Carmen – cherin@icms.edu.au 02 9466 1036.

The University of Sydney Info Night – Fairfield

Discover why the University of Sydney is the right place for you! Chat with current students and alumni from South West Sydney; learn about admission requirements, entry schemes, pathways, fees, scholarships, and other financial assistance and support services from expert staff and a UAC representative. Register now:

Webinar Wednesdays - The University of Sydney

The Weekly Webinar series is designed to help students discover what it's like to study a bachelor's degree here at Sydney University. These webinars are best suited for students from Years 10-12, and include tips on your school subjects, preparing for university and how to choose a course. The series also includes faculty-specific tasters. For more information and to register:

ACE the HSC Seminar - Year 11 & 12

Saturday 11th March 10am-11:30am - Join online or at Macquarie University to learn how you can ACE your HSC this year. Topics include; how to boost your marks in assessment tasks/exams, tips from high achieving students and how to maintain motivation throughout the year. To register for either live or online access please visit:

ANU Open Day - Saturday 18 March

ANU Open Day is your chance to tour the campus and accommodation, learn about the academic colleges, degree programs and support services, and chat to current students about campus life and their ANU experiences. View the program and register at

Other News

Western Sydney University

The Whitlam Institute’s annual What Matters? Writing Competition is back for 2023! Entries can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry or prose of 600 words or less, and can be submitted quickly online. Open to students years 5-12. Entries close on Friday, 5 May 2023. Find out more:

Year 12 Careers Day

Our Year 12 Careers Day was held on Friday, 24 February at school.  The students checked and amended their NESA details – it is important that these are correct!  Please let Mrs Avery know if you need to amend anything on NESA.  Everyone has a NESA number and a PIN which will give them access to their information.

We were very lucky to have several guest speakers on the day from local industries and it was great for the students to see the variety of career opportunities in our area.  The depth and range in each industry is quite amazing and there are opportunities across our state, our nation and overseas.

Thank you to Nick and Stevie-Lee from R & R Properties; Karen, Emily and Blake from Dairy NSW; Corrine and Sophia from MidCoast Council and the team from Bunnings.

We really appreciate you giving up your time to speak to the students.  The feedback from the students has been excellent and in many cases, this was the best part of the day in their opinion.  Thanks to Erin Lute from RIEP for organising these presenters for us.

All of the students were given time to update or construct a resume and a cover letter and there will be more time in the coming weeks spent on this.  It is very important that each student has at least a basic resume which can be easily updated when needed.

Admiral McRaven had some very valuable information for the students – he encouraged them to “Make their Beds” each morning as this means they will have completed at least one task to start the day and even if nothing else goes right that day they will come home to a bed that is made.

Over the coming weeks there will be a great deal of information about university pathways presented as well as information about UAC and the process to be followed to register for this.

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.

Usually, a student approaches a workplace to see if it is possible to do Work Experience and then lets me know where they wish to go, and then collect and complete the paperwork.  I contact the workplace to confirm the details and we go from there.

I am happy to approach a workplace on a student’s behalf, however, most workplaces like to hear from and meet the student in the first place, as this shows that the student is keen.

Karen McCann
Careers/VET Adviser