Resources
By now students should be logged into two careers pages (they had time in extended Home Group to enrol.) This will give them information about, and an opportunity to research, options post-school. These include information about the world of work, training, TAFE, private colleges and University. Parents can also access these sites by organising a log-in to stay updated and informed. Please contact me for details on how to do this.
1. Job Jump
To create a log-in parents can click on “I’m new.” Watch the help video on how to do this.
The school name is Inaburra and the password for parents of our students is attainable by sending me an email.
You will then create a personal profile including your email account which will be where newsletter updates will be sent.
This site has:
- A career quick quiz that show options about possible careers based on likes and preferences
- Help for students to discover more about an area they might be passionate about
- The classic bullseyes which show what careers can be accessed at what training levels
- What apprenticeships/traineeships are about and how to access them
- Information on TAFE courses and how to apply
- A course search tool based on ATAR possible results and you can then link direct to UAC or the University of the selected courses through it, including sending a personal message to the University
- https://www.jobjump.com.au/helpVideo shows you how – and how to keep these on a priority list
- You should also get a weekly email from them updating latest careers news and events for the year but you can also look for news on an area of interest at https://www.jobjump.com.au/news
2. Study Work Grow
https://studyworkgrow.com.au/school/inaburra-school/
The code for this for the school community is also attainable by emailing me at careers@inaburra.nsw.edu.au . This site is less ATAR focused and has a rounded approach to career development.
This site has:
- Some great guides (eg early entry guide (I have emailed a copy of this to Year 12 students separately as well) / medicine application guide) some of which are free and some come at a cost https://studyworkgrow.com.au/guides/
- It also has its own apprenticeship and traineeship guide.
- A job spotlight and video area about various careers that you can get a glimpse about.
- It also generates an automatic regular newsletter with career news and updates.
Other
There are also several free resources that can be utilised both in discussion with the careers team at school, and also at home.
3. The Inaburra School Website (Careers section)
https://www.inaburra.nsw.edu.au/community/parents-students/careers-program/
The Inaburra website has free access to many links to post school options organised into areas of interest for all the Inaburra community. For example RTO’s are grouped in areas of interest (eg Business / Health etc.) and there is a list of apprenticeship training groups. There are links to most of the Universities around Australia and in NSW / ACT each institution is broken up into course guides, early entry information, adjustment factors, alternate pathways, scholarships and open day and other events. This is free and has been updated with current links – by using these links it means the information is direct from each University.
4. Year 12 Inaburra Careers Google Classroom
https://classroom.google.com/c/NzQyNTEwOTUxNjVa
The Google Classroom is accessible to students of Inaburra but parents may get updates through the stream service attached to it. This is an online library of post school organisations related to further training or the world of work and includes direct links to each institution. It includes links to various apprenticeship companies and career areas, like emergency services. This avoids students having to go to more than one place to get links for various education providers and job suppliers.
5. The Huddle Collective
https://www.huddlecollective.com/
This site has been developed in the Shire with growing links to Universities and other educational institutions. It also includes a helpful calendar of some of the upcoming careers events around the Shire and beyond.
Further Support
There are several areas of further support that go beyond looking online and I would encourage students and parents to explore these opportunities. Many students have proactively sought out some of these already, especially post our individual discussions at the end of last year. I would encourage the take up of the opportunities below:
- Discussions with the Careers Counsellor
The careers team will be talking to all Year 12 students during Term 2 with confidential conversations about career paths and the next steps, following up on our individual discussions in late 2020. We will also be getting students to complete another My Career Match profile, as also completed in Year 10, to help create a picture of areas their current skills and interests might match in the world of work. Students are also able to come and see the careers team and have a chat outside these times. Parents can email their own queries about their students post school options to careers@inaburra.nsw.edu.au - Careers Expos and Events
We have already visited the University of Wollongong at their Discovery Day to find out more about university life. In Week 2 the students visited the local Shire Careers Expo at Sutherland Basketball Stadium. The day before I went through some tips on making the most out of careers expos. The following may help you in discussing what students might get out of open days and expos they go to later in the year: https://myfuture.edu.au/career-articles/details/how-to-make-the-most-of-open-days-and-career-expos Students also had free access to a statewide virtual careers expo which I promoted to Year 12 that occurred on 28 April. This was an excellent online presentation, however feedback I have got is that students and parents like the personal contact expos where more thorough discussions can be held. Therefore other expos will be advised as they come up but the one that has previously engendered much positive feedback is the Sydney Careers Expo annually held at Homebush. At this stage it is back in person for 2021 and tickets open up on 19 April at https://www.hscandcareers.com.au/ Previous attendees have also said the best time to go is the weekend as both parent and student can be present and hear the same thing from the institution representatives. It is on from June 3rd to June 6th – see the website for more details.Come August and September many institutions will hold open days, again we will advertise those through the emails from the above websites, but it would be great to be on an individual institutions email contact list if that is the one institution the Year 12 student is most interested in attending. - Early Entry Support
There have been a few queries around early entry. Up until now Universities have been concentrating on their 2021 enrollments rather than early entry. Some Universities have now started focusing on early entry, for example ANU direct applications are now open. Many, however, are still some way off. If you have any specific questions please send the careers team an email or directly ask the University in question (which you can do through the ATAR finder on jobjump.) There will be presentations on early entry for Year 12 through the next two terms. There is also an early entry guide available through the study work grow website above that is thoroughly recommended as a good starting point.Some general advice for early entry:- If there is a specific University a student wants to get early entry for they should get on their direct email list. They need to contact the future students section for the institution of interest to do this (again email careers@inaburra.nsw.edu.au for a contact number if you don’t have one).
- Early entry is about showing an ability to thrive at University so they look at some academic results (usually Year 11 results and then first half of Year 12) but for many early entry programs they look at the subjects relevant to the relevant course and they also generally look at progress in terms of improvements of marks, rather than a singular mark.
- They also look beyond academics and ask questions about what motivates students, what they are passionate about and why their University and that course.
- They normally want to see the person as a whole so will ask about what activities the student does in the community. Service through church / local groups is always well received as is work experience (especially volunteer work.)
- Some programs require an interview but many are now by written application only. Students should get their written applications checked before handing them in to see if they have communicated what they wanted to say effectively. It is suggested they write them in a Word document that can be edited before putting it on the application itself.
More on early entry for each institution can be found on the Inaburra website under careers and in the booklet I recently emailed Year 12 students through their school account.
- UAC Information
For students wishing to apply for University: All students were given a UAC guide book on Wednesday of Week 2 this term. This is for those students wishing to go onto University and is a critical aid in the process and should be gone through, preferably by the student and their parents. In upcoming weeks I am going through with students how to use this book.If you want to learn more about the UAC process (for many this is the first time going through application processes) the following help is available:- UAC digital is brand new this year https://www.uac.edu.au/schools/uac-digital – it has a range of useful events and we promote some through the school (as we did through Google Classroom updates on the recent UAC information session) but regularly checking it is a good idea for both parents and student.
- The UAC YouTube page have videos explaining the process https://www.youtube.com/user/UACinfo
- UAC also has a Facebook page which has regular online events https://www.facebook.com/uacinfo . Through the year they also have live chats and video sessions for parents and students and I will try to notify students of these through email and the Google Classroom Careers news feed.
- Note: UAC applications actually opened from 1 April but not all Universities will include their courses so there is no need to jump and do applications at the moment. I will go through this process with students next term when the physical UAC guides arrive.
- Please make sure your student does not lose their UAC PIN when they receive it. They will need it through the year.
- Information on other tests sometimes required (eg LAT – for law at UNSW and UCAT for many medicine courses) is available on the Inaburra website, Inaburra Careers Google Classroom, and the websites covered in section one.
Overall Summary
A combination of the following tools are what we use in the careers department at Inaburra:
- The Inaburra website,
- The google classroom page on careers,
- Huddle collective,
- mycareermatch,
- jobjump and,
- study work grow
These tools are provided to help students work out their options for next year. By having a diversity of resources it should help students find at least one resource that works for them.
Of course these are enhanced by personal conversations, both with the careers team at school and also individual providers. We encourage students (and parents) to come and ask us questions, even if it is just for us to advise who would know the answer.
A personal visit to institutions of interest often helps students over the line when making decisions and students should be encouraged to do so earlier in the year so as not to interrupt their study later in the year and help them set goals of achievement that are relevant to their pathway of preference. This relates to future workplaces, training organisations, or further educational institutions.
Mr Stuart Jones
Careers Counsellor Inaburra School
careers@inaburra.nsw.edu.au