Career education at TAFE and ACE: my career capabilities

​Young people in the Learn Local adult community education sector and with VET providers will have a range of starting points for their career planning depending on the extent of their previous career preparation.

Young people with Learn Local and VET providers focus on developing an understanding of their personal characteristics that assist in determining their career goals. They undertake activities that identify the effects of education and training on career opportunities and examine the range of roles that can contribute to positive personal goals.

Young people locate, use and review career and occupational information, explore and understand the use of labour market trends, and the application of problem-solving and goal-setting strategies. This contributes to developing the students ability to make and manage their career and life decisions.

In developing their career action plan, young people will focus on the strategic steps to achieving their career goals with emphasis on their financial, individual and lifelong learning needs. These young people should be able to identify and document experiences and activities that demonstrate their skills, knowledge and capabilities. They should be capable of effectively using a range of career resources and be making effective use of their allies to achieve their career goals.

Learn Local and VET career education program

Learning outcome: self development

Learning outcome 1


 
1. Use the results of a self-assessment to identify areas of development, build aspirations and provide a positive self-image.
Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Review achievements, skills and qualities.
  2. Produce a personal advert or statement.
  3. Identify and present personal strengths.
Learning and teaching resources

Learning outcome 2


 
2. Explore methods to enhance interpersonal and group communication skills including for a successful work interview.
Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Develop abilities for building positive relationships in life and work.
  2. Become aware of and practice interview skills.
Learning and teaching resources

Learning outcome 3


 
3. Re-examine your personal characteristics and determine those that contribute positively to the achievement of your life, learning and work goals.
Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Review personal behaviour and attitudes required for working with and for others.
  2. Identify personal attributes and employability skills required in the world of work.
Learning and teaching resources

Links to the Australian Blueprint for career development

Phase I-IV   

Area A: Personal Management   

  • Competency 1: Build and maintain a positive self-image
  • Competency 2: Interact positively and effectively with others
  • Competency 3: Change and grow throughout life

Teacher planning questions

  1. Am I current with my knowledge of the ways in which the subject I teach fits into the world of work?
  2. Am I providing opportunities for my students to reflect on what they have learned and how they can implement that learning while making career and job choices?
  3. Have I laid a strong enough emphasis on how personal characteristics and behaviour reflect on students’ life, learning and work goals and that negative attitudes have consequences?
  4. What are the ways in which I can help students explore the vital role of positive communication amongst peers and adults?
  5. Do I find opportunities for group discussions to talk about issues like stereotyping and biases with relation to social interaction, careers and work?

Additional activity

Choose a family member or a person you know well. Observe how they work and how their community, social and family roles have contributed to them achieving their personal goals. Develop a flow chart to represent your observations.   

Learning outcome: career exploration

Learning outcome 4

4. Demonstrate skills and attitudes towards learning that will help you to achieve your life and career goals.
Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Discuss perceptions of self, including personal attributes and relate them to achieving career goals.
  2. Discuss and identify skills needed in the home, places of learning and the workplace.
Learning and teaching resources

Learning outcome 5

5. Participate in continuous learning supportive of career goals.
Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Discuss and work through how acquiring skills is a life-long learning process in the workplace.
  2. Discuss and record data on how life-long learning enhances ability to achieve career goals.

Learning outcome 6

6. Identify how your education and training achievements affect your available options for courses, programs, workplace training and entry to work.
Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Match education and training requirements with various careers and work roles

Learning outcome 7

7. Locate and use education and training information, occupational and industry information and labour market information in the career building process.
Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Investigate a variety of occupations to assist in making career decisions.
  2. Explore skills, knowledge and attitudes required to locate, interpret and use information about work opportunities.
Learning and teaching resources

Links to the Australian Blueprint for career development

Phase I - IV   

Area B: Learning and Work Exploration   

  • Competency 4: Participate in lifelong learning
  • Competency 5: Locate and effectively use career information
  • Competency 6: Understand the relationship between work, society and the economy

Teacher planning questions

  1. Have I discussed with my students that acquiring the maximum amount of varied skills and knowledge will open up a wide range of careers and jobs to choose from and that they can fulfil the requirements of a variety of work roles?
  2. Have I spent time discussing career action plans with relation to economic, social and employment changes and trends?
  3. Am I reminding my students that participating in continuous learning supports career goals?
  4. What are the ways in which I can help students identify how their education and training affect options for further courses and workplace training?
  5. How am I informing my students about the labour market while they are in the process of career building?

Additional activity

Interview an older member in the family and collect information on how he/she sought work, got a job and maintained it. Collect the same information from a younger person and compare the differences and similarities. Write down some important points that you can keep in mind.   

 

Learning outcome: career management

8. Develop abilities to seek, obtain, create and maintain work.

Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Develop a well informed and well thought out career action plan.
  2. Discuss and record information on ways of entering the world of work successfully.
Learning and teaching resources

9. Consider the possible implications of changes in learning and work for your own career goals and plans including financial options.

Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Investigate how work can develop in unexpected directions through a survey.
  2. Discuss and identify changes in the world of work, including entrepreneurial skills.
Learning and teaching resources

10. Understand and apply problem-solving and goal-setting strategies in making career and life decisions.

Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Look back on future goals made and update your career action plan with actions to meet these goals.

11. Examine how personal goals can be satisfied through a combination of work, community, social and family roles.

Achieving outcomes through planned activities
  1. Research and share information on personal timeline and vocational tree.
Learning and teaching resources

Links to the Australian Blueprint for career development

Phase I-IV   

Area C: Career Building   

  • Competency 7: Secure/create and maintain work
  • Competency 8: Make career-enhancing decisions
  • Competency 9: Maintain balanced life and work roles
  • Competency 10: Understand the changing nature of life and work roles
  • Competency 11: Understand, engage in and manage the career-building process

Teacher planning questions

  1. Have I helped students develop abilities to seek, obtain and maintain work?
  2. Have I emphasised the importance of developing short-term career action plans that are flexible and adaptable?
  3. Have I informed students of how personal goals can be achieved through combining work, community, social and family roles?
  4. Have I focused on the possible implications of changes in learning and work when working towards setting career goals?
  5. Am I providing students with problem-solving strategies and goal-setting strategies for them to use when making career and life decisions?
  6. How can I support students in my class to achieve their career goals? (e.g. review their resume)

Additional activities

  1. Choose a career that interests you and develop a list of the skills and courses you will need to work on to take up that career.
  2. Develop a resume that includes your current skills, abilities, experiences and interests. Also include three referees that will provide evidence to support your personal characteristics and capabilities.
  3. Begin to create your career portfolio. Collect all recent awards, certificates and reports, for example work experience employer report that you have stated in your resume, and place in a folder. You may also scan the documents for back up.
  4. Explore an online recruitment site and explain what the site offers. Select two job vacancies that interest you. Give a brief description of the employer requirements.
 

Career action plans

The framework focuses the student’s attention on recognising and creating opportunities to make informed career choices by defining their career goals in an annual career action plan. In each year of their career education program, students develop a career action plan that reflects their increased learning, identifies future actions and builds on previous planning.

For sample templates, see: 

Teacher advice

When preparing to implement the framework it is important that teachers reflect on the following questions:

  1. Do l have students from diverse backgrounds? If so, am l coordinating with their families, support agencies and their communities?
  2. Do l have any Koorie students? If so, am l coordinating effectively with Koorie education support officers, Koorie transition officers, Koorie families and the Koorie community?
  3. How do my own attitudes affect the way l assist students with their career goals/planning?
  4. Do l have high enough expectations of all my students in relation to their career planning?