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Youth Transitions

Career Education in Schools

Quality career education programs throughout schooling are necessary to assist young people in their career development process. A comprehensive career education program consists of the following components:

  • Self awareness - to help students identify their personal attributes
  • Opportunity awareness - to involve students in investigating, exploring and experiencing the world of work and the various pathways within it
  • Decision learning - to enhance informed decision making
  • Transition planning - to develop skills that students that effectively move into new situations

 

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Schools Accountability and Improvement Framework

To support leadership teams and teachers in evaluating school and student performance, a new accountability and improvement framework has been developed.

The framework defines three broad areas of student outcomes:

  • Student learning
  • Student pathways and transitions
  • Student engagement and wellbeing.

Student pathways and transitions focus on levels of participation in education and training, and the provision of programs, support and advice to students regarding appropriate pathways and transitions.

To do this effectively, schools will need to have in place a careers and transition program that is part of an integrated model of careers and transition support. The program should include career education and advice, Managed Individual Pathways (MIPs) and information regarding student welfare.

For more information, see: Schools Accountability and Improvement Framework

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Careers Coordinators

Career Coordinators in schools support students by providing advice on all career related issues. They also deliver career education programs in classes.

For more information see:

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Managed Individual Pathways (MIPs)

The Managed Individual Pathways (MIPs) program helps all students aged 15 and over through the final years of schooling and into further education, training or secure employment. MIPs help young people make a smooth transition from compulsory schooling into further education, training and employment. The program also provides follow-up with students who don’t complete Year 12 at the time of leaving and six months later.

For more information, see:

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Assessment and reporting of career education in schools

Reporting is the process by which assessment information is communicated in ways that assist students, parents, teachers and the system in making decisions by providing information about what students know and can do, along with recommendations for their future learning.

Career education in schools is assessed within the Victorian Essential Learning Standards in particular within the Personal Learning domain and the Discipline Strand of Humanities - Economics. Knowledge and skills developed by the students would be reported as part of the school report to parents process.

For more information see:

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Victorian Essential Learning Standards

The Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) describes what is essential for students to achieve from Years Prep to 10 in Victorian schools. It provides the opportunity to link pathways planning to the development of skills and self awareness and describe what students should know and be able to do at different stages of learning.

To succeed beyond the compulsory years of schooling, all students need to develop the capacities to:

  • manage themselves as individuals and in relation to others
  • understand the world in which they live
  • act effectively in that world.

Linking Career Education with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards
To further understand the links between career education and the Victorian Essential Learning Standards, including strands, domains and dimensions, download:

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Stages of Learning

Years Prep to 4 – Laying the foundations
The curriculum focuses on developing the fundamental knowledge, skills and behaviours in literacy and numeracy and other areas including physical and social capacities that underpin all future learning. Career development at this stage includes the development of self awareness and understanding of the world around them, including the roles people have in their lives.

Years 5 to 8 – Building breadth and depth
In these years students progress beyond the foundations and their literacy and numeracy becomes more developed. Career development at this stage includes a deeper understanding of themselves and the working world and the decision making processes. They will begin to explore options for learning that can lead to pathways they may want to follow.

Years 9 to 10 – Developing pathways 

In these years students develop greater independence of mind and interests. They seek deeper connections between their learning and the world around them and explore how learning might be applied in that world. They need to experience learning in work and community settings as well as the classroom. They are beginning to develop preferred areas for their learning. 

For more information, see Stages of Learning.

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Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs)

Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) bring together education providers, industry, community organisations, individual and government organisations to improve education, training and employment outcomes for young people in communities across Victoria.

For more information, see: Local Learning and Employment Networks

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Career Education Resources

Below are listed some career resources that can be used in primary and secondary school settings.

Learning and Teaching Careers Resources

Developed for Victorian schools, these career and transition resources include lessons for students from Year 6 to Year 10, but can be tailored to suit other age groups.

Lessons are included under the headings

  • Self awareness – assisting young people to identify personal attributes, abilities, interests and values.
  • Opportunity awareness – for young people to investigate, explore and experience the world of work and the pathways in it.
  • Decision learning – assisting young people in developing the skills needed to make informed decisions particularly in relation to career development
  • Transition planning - to develop awareness of the skills required to deal with and get the best outcomes in new situations, particularly in relation to transitions through education, training and work

For more information, see: Learning and Teaching Careers Resources

The Real Game series

The Real Game series is a career and life skills education program to help students see the connection between school studies and life after school.

The programs are paper-based and designed for group work in the classroom. Teachers, students and parents and other careers practitioners have found them easy-to-use, engaging, informative and effective at increasing students’ understanding of the world of work, and their future roles in it.

There are five careers programs for students aged 8 to 18 years old;

  • The Play Real Game – for students aged 8 to 10 (Year 3 to 5)
  • The Make it Real Game – for students aged 10 to 12 (Years 6 and 7)
  • The Real Game – for students aged 12 to 14 (Years 7 and 8)
  • The Be Real Game – for students aged 14 to 16 (Years 9 and 10)
  • The Get Real Game – for students aged 16 to 18 (Years 11 and 12)

For more information, see: The Real Game Series,  The Australian Real Game website, and the International Real Game website 

Training

The Department provides training in the Real Game Series. For further information, email  youth.transitions@edumail.vic.gov.au

myfuture

myfuture is a free Australian online career exploration and information service useful for students, parents, careers practitioners and other adults. The site contains two main sections, The Facts and My Guide.

  • The Facts - includes details of hundreds of jobs available in Australia and the education and training options that lead to those jobs
  • My Guide - presents over 360 questions and activities about interests, skills, knowledge, education and work, targeted for different ages and people at different stages of their career development. The information gathered builds a personal profile that can be used to identify possible career options.
  • Assist Others includes information for careers practitioners and others to assist in career development.

For more information, see: myfuture 

Training

The Department provides training in the use of the myfuture website. For further information, email youth.transitions@edumail.vic.gov.au

Work Experience

All students who attend secondary schools may complete one or two weeks of work experience, usually in Years 9 and 10, but it is not restricted to those years.

Guidelines for work experience and useful ideas and proformas can be found at the Work Experience website (http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/voced/workexp).

Job Guide

By providing information about approximately 600 occupations and their education and training pathways, the Job Guide helps students make appropriate subject choices and make informed career decisions. It also gives information on the job search process, apprenticeships and traineeships, government assistance and contact addresses.

For more information, see: Job Guide 

Department of Education Science and Training publications

The Australian Government's Department of Education Science and Training (DEST) provides a range of careers resources, some of which are listed below:

  • Steve Waugh presents: Chase your dreams
  • How to get yourself a job
  • Getting a Job - Future Directions
  • Parents Help with Careers - Future Directions
  • I can do that too – Future directions
  • Do you enjoy or are you good at..?
  • No Shame Job.

For more information, see: Department of Education Science and Training publications 

Individual programs developed by schools

Some schools develop their own programs tailored to the needs of their students. Details of some of these can be found in the Managed Individual Pathways (MIPs) case studies.

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More information

See: