Following on from our Careers Expo in Week 3, National Careers Week is another opportunity for our students to investigate what they want their futures to look like and what they can do to achieve those goals. As well as the economic benefits of choosing a career, this week aims to also promote the social and personal benefits of finding fulfilling work.
To find out more about how Kennedy Baptist College is helping students travel towards their future careers, we sat down with the College’s Career Development Coordinator, Mrs Mary Minorgan.
National Careers Week is this week! Why should students be looking at career choices while at school?
Thanks for having me. Secondary school is a crucial point on a person’s career path, and subject choices in upper school can have a great impact on what a student might do in the future, whether they look to further study or begin working right away after graduating. While at Kennedy, we work to help our students to discover what motivates them by discussing both subject and career choices. By helping students to learn what they enjoy doing while at the College, students are better placed to find the best career path for themselves right away. As part of this path, we ask students to be aware that they might study and work in different occupations as they learn and grow, especially as the job market is becoming more fluid.
Keeping in mind the instability in the job market, what is the importance of life-long learning for our students to finding and adapting to a different career?
Life-long learning is essential, as we seek to develop talent for a career alongside what we can call ‘transferable skills’. I love using the phrase; your career is a journey, not a destination. Helping students realise that their careers are journeys is significant to their overall development. We need to remind them that the skills and talents they currently have, will develop throughout their lives and make them capable of adapting to numerous occupations. Donald Super, a Career Development Theorist, defines this as ‘vocational maturity’.
How does the Kennedy Careers Hub help students along their career pathways?
The Careers Hub aims to help students with current career choices, foster learning for future career choices, and assist in developing the decision-making process. As well as holding events such as our recent Career Expo, students are able to drop-in to the Hub or organise an individualised 50-minute consultation with us, where we can answer questions, give résumé feedback, assist with university and TAFE applications, and supply career-related resources. We are also ready to discuss graduate opportunities, UCAT testing and provide information on TISC.
The team consists of two staff members: myself as Career Development Coordinator and Ernesto Ramirez as our VET and Workplace Learning Coordinator. We provide the information that students need and give them the skills to access it, always with the aim to increase student awareness of their opportunities and options.
What is the best advice that you can give to a student who is unsure about their future career?
This simple activity1 can help students identify four core features of themselves:
- Identify what you are good at.
- Identify what you like to do.
- Identify what you are interested in.
- Identify what is important to you.
When students are struggling, we can use assessment techniques such as career profiling tools, Career Values Cards, and narrative counselling to help them identify their personality strengths and match these to careers.
How can students learn more about their career choices and how Kennedy can help them get to where they want to go?
If you want to learn more and better understand what services are on offer, please visit the Careers Hub page under the ICT portal available on SEQTA. Alternatively, click on the links below for some great resources. While the Career Hub is open for all students to drop-into, I would encourage students to book appointments with us. If you would like to book an appointment, please send us a direct message using SEQTA or email myself or Mr Ramirez.
Some Valuable Resources:
https://www.myskills.gov.au
https://www.courseseeker.edu.au
https://www.tafecourses.com.au/
https://myfuture.edu.au
https://www.mycareermatch.com.au
- Adapted from Amundson, Poehnell and Pattern (2005) Career Scope: Looking in, looking out, looking around: Ergon Communications ↩︎
