Report: Lillian Leptos
Focussing on the future can make all the difference to a student’s attitude to their classes. With this in mind, the College recently hosted its 2022 Careers Expo.
It’s never too early to start thinking about future pathways and to help even our youngest students start that process. The Careers Expo began with the Year 7 to 12 students touring the numerous stands that universities and TAFE and employer providers set up in the College gym. The teachers used this as an opportunity to discuss the links between their specialist subjects and post-school studies that the students could pursue. To help families attend, the College also provided a free BBQ, prepared and served by Year 11 VCAL students Monique and Alexandra, and lovely desserts prepared by Alex, Grace and Katia under the supervision of food teacher and Year 12 Coordinator, Mr Dibben.
The presentations by external providers were scheduled at a time that would allow students to attend with their parents to support the discussions at home about subject selection, courses and careers. Research tells us that parents are the single greatest influence on their child’s education and career decisions. High parental engagement can have a major impact on the young person’s learning, so the WRSC Careers Expo was planned to help our parent and carer population to develop the knowledge that they will need to assist their child to make informed and productive choices.
The process of selecting subjects was explained and handbooks were distributed. With some aspects of the subject selection process being completed online, the students also picked up their individual student login details. As classes have limited numbers, the keenest students began selecting their subjects promptly and then course counselling, led by Mr Mazzeo and Mr Ormrod, the following week allowed the students to confirm their choices.
The careers office is managed by Frances Galea who works with the counselling team at WRSC to help students work out their career plans. Whether they are continuing studies or starting work, narrowing down their interests, capabilities and preferences early can help students chart a plan through high school that will support their post-secondary goals. A career counsellor does more than simply ask a student what he or she wants to do. There are a number of questions and tests that can provide insights into careers and jobs that will suit each student’s abilities, dreams and requirements.
The WRSC students have the benefit of completing the Morrisby Program which helps them to determine their interests and strengths. The subject selection period is an exciting time for WRSC students and attending the Careers Expo was a great way of starting the process.