On the job with career based school excursions

Career exploration days are a vital part of the schooling calendar. Not only do they help students prepare for the future, but they can also inspire and excite students.

Choosing a career is one of the biggest decisions your students will ever make.

Career exploration activities help students learn more about themselves – their interests and their academic, social and physical strengths and weaknesses. In turn, this gives students a clearer view of who they are, and helps them narrow down potential career choices.

Career planning school excursions are a vital part of the career exploration jigsaw. They allow students to see and interact first-hand with professionals in a wide range of career fields, ask questions and observe. They also provide an opportunity to introduce students to unfamiliar occupations and get a taste of valuable hands-on experience.

Importantly, career school excursions can also help your students face and find solutions to educational and career barriers.

According to the myfuture career information and exploration service www.myfuture.edu.au, a joint initiative of the Australian and state and territory governments, your local community is an ideal base for career exploration. They offer the following school excursion suggestions:

Local council or shire office
Councils employ people in a wide range of occupations. Areas of employment include sports and recreation, arts and culture, community services, outreach and care, parks and gardens, animal management, business development, urban planning, roads and traffic, law, tourism, finance and other special projects.

Council jobs range from highly specialised roles requiring specific qualifications such as urban planner and social worker, to more generalist positions such as project officer and administration clerk.

Councils usually have several worksites. You can make contact with your local council and find out what opportunities exist for visiting them.
SOURCE www.myfuture.edu.au

Local shopping strip
Local shopping strips and areas usually include services as well as retail outlets.

Common services include chemists, accountants, alternative health providers, medical clinics, physiotherapists, fitness studios or gyms, and beauty therapy.

Common retailing includes groceries, butchery, fruit and vegetables, delicatessens, bakers, clothing and footwear, cafes and restaurants, agricultural and animal supplies, and opportunity shops.

People who work locally do so in a wide range of occupations. These jobs range from professional roles requiring university qualifications, such as physiotherapist and chemist, to skilled occupations including butcher and florist, which require TAFE qualifications and sometimes licencing, to more generalist positions such as newsagency owner/operator and retail assistant. In many shopping strip areas, there are also organisations with volunteer workers with wide-ranging experience and lots of reasons for choosing to volunteer.

You can make contact with your local traders’ association or chamber of commerce to find out what opportunities exist for interviewing employees on the shopping strip. Your local council may be able to assist with making arrangements. If you choose to visit a shopping centre, you will need to make contact with centre management beforehand.
SOURCE www.myfuture.edu.au

An in-house educational school excursion – the panel of experts
School communities are a rich source of career resources. Parents, volunteers, staff and teachers have already taken on many different occupations in their working lives. Depending on the nature of your community, it may also be possible to include people not directly associated with the school, such as former students, local trades people, members of parliament, etc.

• Plan for a panel that includes five or six people who you know have diverse experiences and are passionate about the positive contribution they make to their community. You should ensure that each panellist will address a specific job.
• Brief each panel member – they are allowed a two-minute introduction, perhaps using audiovisual materials, but no more. They will then answer questions from the host and students.
• In teams, students complete background research on the nominated five or six jobs that will be showcased at the panel.
• The host – perhaps you as teacher – engages panellists in discussion about the highlights of their particular job.

- Why would they recommend this area of work to young people?
- What personal values are common in people who do this job?
- What were they like as school students?
- What did parents or others think about their choice of job?

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT
www.myfuture.edu.au

Career excursions can also help your students face and find solutions to educational and career barriers.