Made up of qualified careers practitioners and professionals in industry engagement, diversity and inclusion and partnerships, the GSSC careers team has hit the ground running since coming together on the new Hawdon St campus in 2022.
Careers manager Natasha Boyko said the college was fortunate to have such a robust careers team, allowing the staff to be dispersed across the various school neighbourhoods to build relationships and provide personalised support to students.
“Although we’re a large institution, we’re still able to provide that ‘small school’ feel when it comes to careers pathways and mentoring because we have the team set up to provide that individualised and tailored support for students,” she said.
“It’s still about having those one-on-one conversations and finding the right pathway for the right student.”
The careers team supports students and staff right across the college by providing the networks, tools and resources for subjects embedded into the GSSC curriculum, which are delivered via work-related skills, the Year 10 subject ‘So you think you want a job?’, pathways mentoring and social/emotional classes.
The curriculum is tailored to each year level to ensure it is age-appropriate and relevant.
The careers team also assists with maintaining partnerships and community connections, including with Geared4Careers who are based in the college full-time and complement the careers team by offering an allocated group of students’ practical assistance to become job-ready or to transition to further vocational or tertiary education.
This initiative is thanks to ongoing funding provided by Worktrainers and is the only program of its type in Shepparton.
Natasha said the team was set up to provide intensive support for Year 9 and 10 students, which includes course counselling to assist students to determine their pathway into VCE and beyond.
“This is such a critical time for students in setting themselves up for Years 11 and 12 and it is why we bring parents and guardians in on the conversation to ensure the school and the family are all on the same page in supporting the student to achieve their goals,” she said.
“The careers team has access to university pre-requisites and information that can help guide these decisions and determine the best subject selection and pathway for the student.
“The team also has workplace and industry connections supporting our school-based apprentices and trainees and an extensive work experience program, which includes setting students up with construction industry accreditation (CI cards) to allow them to work on-site in a variety of trades.”
And while the team of six is based within the college, Natasha said the support does not end when the student finishes up at GSSC.
“Once the student finishes with us, we will make phone calls to check in on how they’re going with uni, TAFE, their apprenticeship or other employment or whether there’s any further support or advice we can provide,” she said.
“Being a careers practitioner really is a rewarding job, particularly in a regional area such as this, because you can see how the support you provide can really make a difference to the student’s time in secondary college and to their future and how that can have a flow-on effect and benefit to the community.”
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