There are heaps of different career activities that you can get involved in, helping to give you a feel for a job that you may be interested in doing when you leave school.
Even if you have no idea about what you want to do, by participating in a career activity you can get hands-on experience and get an idea about a career path that you might like to follow.
Participating in career activities will help you to select the right school subjects and make you better prepared for work when you finish school.
Explore the Careers Matrix and see what the possibilities are...
Work Experience
Work experience lets you see what work is all about. If you have your heart set on a specific career, work experience is a great chance to see first hand what�s involved.
Work experience can be done over a week or two while you are still at school or on your holidays. You can also set up work experience for yourself.
Work experience is voluntary and unpaid and is an excellent chance for you to get your foot in the door with an employer you want to work for.
VET in Schools and Structured Workplace Learning (SWL)
Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Schools and Structured Workplace Learning (SWL)
Due to major skills shortages there are increased career opportunities for young people about to enter the job market. VET in Schools provides you with workplace opportunities to help you complete school and further training.
By doing VET in School you can gain valuable industry experience and a nationally recognised training qualification, while studying towards your Senior School Certificate.
The SWL placements provide on the job training and mentoring that will help develop your technical and generic employability skills.
VET in Schools is offered in a variety of industry areas such as information technology, beauty therapy, hospitality and tourism, metal and engineering trades, animal care, business and administration, retail, agriculture, automotive, community services, building and construction and sport and recreation to name just a few!
Australian School-based Apprenticeships
You may know about Apprenticeships, but did you know that you can start an Australian School-based Apprenticeship while you are still at school?
As well as completing your Senior School Certificate, you can work towards gaining a nationally recognised qualification.
An Australian School-based Apprenticeships is part-time and is usually spread over 2 years or more. It involves spending up to 2 days a week in a workplace where you gain hands on skills and experience.
Getting involved in the Australian School-based Apprenticeships program can help improve your chances of employment when you finish school, enabling you to start a rewarding career and potentially own and operate your own business.
Industry Tours
Attending an Industry Tour can show you how different industries operate and the kinds of jobs out there.
This is your chance to see workplaces first hand as well as talk to employers and employees, including Apprentices and Trainees.
Not just a chance to get out of the classroom, industry tours can help you make decisions about subject selection and the career path you may want to follow. You might even come across an employer that you would really like to work for.
Career Expos and Try-A-Trade
Career expos and Try-A-Trade days are great places to investigate heaps of career opportunities!
You can speak directly with employers; learn more about potential training and further education options; find information on the many pathways available and access resources and career planning support.
Career expos are your chance to get a feel for the opportunities available and at a Try-A-Trade day you can have a go at hands-on career activities such as:
Information technology - experience graphic arts and photography
Hospitality - folding table napkins and table setting
Carpentry - making a picture frame
Painting and decorating - airbrushing and sponge painting
Welding and sheet metal - learn basic welding skills
Bricklaying - build a brick wall
Automotive - replace brake pads
Real World Projects
Ever wondered what its like to work in the real world? Getting involved in a project where you can solve actual problems for a local business is a great way to experience a career in the industry of your choice.
Whether you are improving the performance of a manufacturing process, developing a customer survey or producing a marketing plan it is an exciting and rewarding process for everyone involved.
Real world projects will involve you working with a team to solve a problem in a work environment. On your journey towards creating a solution to the problem, you will further develop your skills in critical thinking, goal setting and working under pressure.
This is also a great opportunity to increase your confidence and self-esteem!
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Guest Speakers
Listening to a guest speaker is a great way to get information about a career that may interest you.
Guest speakers can tell you about their career pathway and the type of education and training they undertook. They can also fill you in on their lifestyle and the benefits of being in different types of jobs.
Guest speakers who visit your school or classroom can come from local businesses in the area or even from large multi-national organisations. Chat to your schools Career Adviser/Teacher about guest speakers who may be presenting at your school.
Teacher Professional Development
Industry visits or site tours provide teachers with an opportunity to visit local businesses and get updated information about the latest technologies and sophisticated processes involved in today�s industry.
'Short-term Work Shadowing' or �Release to Industry� involves teachers actually performing a specific role within a local business, enabling teachers to gain a greater depth of understanding of the needs of industry and the range of career opportunities.
Teacher Professional Development exposes teachers to employer expectations of employees, and enables them to link you, as their student, to Structured Workplace Learning opportunities.
Teacher Professional Development allows your teacher to bring valuable career information back to the classroom so that you can be better prepared for the world of work when you leave school.
