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EDUCATION
UPDATE with NICK JOHNSTONE
FROM BISHOP DRUITT COLLEGE
PATHWAYS BEYOND CAREERS EDUCATION
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areers education is more important than ever before. In past decades, careers education consisted of one week of work experience and learning how to write a CV and application letter. Times certainly have changed. Careers education in more recent times focuses on a suite of initiatives. These provisions need to include: 1. A stable careers education program that starts in the primary years with dedicated professionals 2. Learning from regional and national labour market information and trends 3. Addressing the needs of each student with personal careers coaching 4. Linking the curriculum to the careers program 5. Building partnerships with employers, other schools and wider community 6. Encounters with employers and employees on and off campus 7. Regular work experience placements 8. Encounters with further and higher education opportunities 9. Moving from education, to partnerships and then to pathways. Careers Education has evolved recently and is often referred to as Pathways Coaching. This new name highlights the importance of schools to move outside their traditional boundaries and into the community to build partnerships and create genuine pathways for each student. The new process supports students in their subject selections, ensures regular meetings with parents and students and researches individual pathways. The Bishop Druitt College (BDC) careers program leaves nothing to chance. Each 102 COFFS COAST
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student has an extensive lead into Years 11 and 12 with our nationally recognised Careers Pathways Coach, Mrs Gina Driscoll. Gina is supported by the student’s Tutor Teacher, Year Coordinator and their Academic Mentor. This support mechanism is complemented by our onsite careers days, local and regional careers events and tours, as well as mini-classes and taster courses to assist each student's vocational development. Year 10 students participate in two full days of career development activities and compulsory work experience. Many students also seek additional work experience outside of this designated time. For some students this careers planning process leads them to either internally-run VET courses or external VET courses held at TAFE. Many students also move to School Based Apprenticeships or Traineeships during Years 11 and 12 as part of their HSC studies. For others, their career plans can include transitioning to full- or part-time work, cadetships or full-time apprenticeships. Most of our students, however, move through a more traditional university pathway. This process too has changed with some of our students starting university while still studying in Year 11. This pathway ensures that the student is accepted prior to completing their HSC. This year, Bishop Druitt College has experienced a record number of early enrolment offers from universities across the country. This year, 70% of our Year 12 cohort have applied for university study. This figure is more than twice the regional mean. BDC encourages students to apply for early entry schemes and participates in the SCU Headstart program and School Recommendation Scheme Early Entry Pathways processes. This year, over one quarter of our students received early offers or
scholarships from a variety of universities prior to the start of November. HSC students have often completed an accelerated HSC course by the time they enter Year 12. The BDC leadership team works closely with each group of students to ensure their senior common room, senior study hub, library access and holiday tutorials are assisting them with their final years of high school study. BDC prides itself on instilling a level of trust and confidence in our senior students. The often quoted ‘it takes a whole village to raise a child’ is an essential one in the context of careers education and pathways coaching. In recent months, the Australian Independent Schools NSW office has supported Bishop Druitt College, Clarence Valley Anglican School and St Andrew’s Christian School in Grafton in forming the Coffs Clarence Independent Schools Careers Hub. The aim of this new organisation is to provide a key contact for employers to engage with local schools to create long term partnerships, to share industry wisdom and ultimately to provide careers education opportunities and pathways for our young people. If you are interested in supporting careers education contact your local school or if you are keen to support this new Careers Hub, contact Gina Discoll - gdriscoll@ bdc.nsw.edu.au. Finally, I wish to recognise a new Commonwealth Government resource for our young people. The Your Career website (https://www.yourcareer.gov.au/) appears to go a step beyond the existing government websites that many schools have used in the past such as the MyFuture or JobOutlook resources. It also includes access to the school leavers’ information kit.