Careers ______________________________________Page

CAREERS RESOURCE CENTRE UP & RUNNING!

The new Careers Resource Centre (CRC) has certainly been a hive of activity this year. Students have received classes in the CRC in careers pathway planning, writing resumes as well as lessons in strategies to find work placement and apprenticeships. Careers has hosted industry representatives and higher education guest speakers as well as former students to present presentations and information to students across a range of areas. Construction Induction Card and First Aid training has also taken place. Students have been able to access and take away information and brochures from Universities and TAFE as well as other careers specific areas. The CRC has also been used by students to undertake private study during breaks, and to drop in to ask questions and make appointments to get help from the Careers and VET Coordinators. It has been fabulous to see students embrace their new careers space and take advantage of the support, information and resources at their disposal. We look forward to an even busier year next year!

TRANSITION TO CAREERS TOOLS

The St Joseph’s Careers Blog has been used for many years now to inform and link students and their families to careers related topics and resources. Careers aims to continue to improve the service offered to students at the College, and with this goal in mind, a new web-based tool has been introduced, which will eventually replace the Careers Blog. The new Careers Website can be found at www.sjccareers.com. Like the Blog, the SJC Careers Webpage is a “one stop shop” for students’ needs with their Career Planning, information about VCE, VCAL, post-school options and much more. Students can also use careers website tools to create and save resumes, cover letters and digital portfolios. The site has been designed with the parents/ caregivers in mind, and aims to provide the information needed to support students’ Career Planning and post school options – this is very important especially given information is constantly changing. Parents can also log in to the student’s secure area as well as opt to receive careers newsletters and information about careers events. Students will be creating their career planners using the new Careers Webpage in 2017. Students and parents/caregivers are encouraged to have a look at the new web page and take the time to explore the many resources and links available!

WORK EXPERIENCE WEEK

Work Experience week was held in Term 2. The preparation begins in Year 9 during Term 4. For many, this is the first time that they will experience the world of work. This year, over 280 students from Year 10 descended upon workplaces in Geelong and the greater region, and further afield in Melbourne, Deniliquin, New South Wales and South Australia. Work places included the Geelong Magistrates’ Court, GPAC, farms, sports stores, many primary and secondary schools, the Melbourne, Geelong and Hawthorn Football clubs, building and construction sites, graphic design, law and architectural firms, and many, many more.

CAREERS WEEK

Careers Week aims to get students thinking about their future career pathways. During Career’s Week, Year 10 students were prompted to begin preparing for their future pathway at school and to think about decisions that they will need to make that will affect and influence the next steps in their career development. This year, students were able to attend two presentations from a range of career industry areas. A number of the guest presenters this year were former students who were excited to come back to the College and share their experience and wisdom with the Year 10 boys. Students also actively participated in the Shape Your Destiny workshop, completed careers investigation and heard about their senior school pathway options from the VCE and VCAL Coordinators.

Karen Shum - Careers Coordinator INTERNET OF THINGS

For the first four weeks of Term 4, four of us from Westcourt travelled to the Gordon for a program called the Internet of Things, run in collaboration by Deakin and the Gordon. While there we met the amazing Mr Kevin Leach, who explained to us the concept of the IOT, and helped us to start coding. Over the next four weeks, we learnt how to play James Bond on a buzzer, create a thermometer only using wires, a board and an LCD, drive small rovers and make NAO robots dab. It was a fantastic experience and I would recommend it to anyone aspiring to be a brilliant computer technician.

- Aidan Wong, Year 9

Joshua Besei, Aidan Wong, Jai Iacovella and Joshua Besei, Aidan Wong, Jai Iacovella and Tom Anderson, Year 9, participated in the Tom Anderson, Year 9, participated in the Internet of Things program at the Gordon. Internet of Things program at the Gordon. The Careers Website The Careers Website