As part of St Margaret’s careers development program, students in Year 10 can now gain a certificate accreditation across a range of industries including sport, hospitality, health, community services, engineering and agriculture.
The 2022 Year 10 cohort was the first to select a Certificate II or III qualification as part of their subject selection.
According to the Head of Faculty – Student Pathways and Futures, Naomi Holley, there are many benefits to students completing a vocational qualification while at school.
‘One of the most important of these is that it gives students the practical skills and experience to get a part-time job.
‘It also gives them a taster of particular fields of work and helps them to identify the skills and attributes associated with it.
‘The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) has identified seven ‘clusters of work’ for more than 1000 different occupations in Australia, associating a specific set of skills, day to day tasks and work environments with each career cluster. The Year 10 certificate courses have been carefully selected to align with each of these clusters,” Naomi said.
‘These certificate courses give students the opportunity to test out a career cluster which either affirms their decision to pursue a certain career pathway or helps them to decide that industry or career is not for them. They are learning from industry professionals who are working in industry, which gives students access to the most up to date knowledge.
‘It’s so powerful that they can gain this knowledge, experience and insight before they make their senior subject selections and/or before they start tertiary studies,’ Naomi said.
Completing a Certificate qualification while at school also allows students to gain valuable credit points towards their QCE.
Most coursework is completed at school, during weekly timetabled sessions, with a heavy focus on hands-on, practical experience.
Students studying the Certificate II in Hospitality, for example, will learn how to make coffee using the facilities in Ms Café, while students studying sport might gain practical experience coaching St Margaret’s extracurricular sports.
This year, more than twenty students have elected to study a Certificate II Engineering Pathway, which will see them develop the skills to build and fly drones and will enhance their prospects of employment in an engineering or related working environment.
It is intended that the selection of course offerings will change each year to meet the strengths and interests of the cohort.
Students from last year’s cohort shared their reasons for selecting their certificate studies and how it has benefited them so far.
Rose Brown, now in Year 11, chose the Certificate II in Health because she enjoys helping others.
‘I thought it would be beneficial no matter the career pathway I end up choosing. I have learnt skills that not only apply specifically to health but can be transferred to almost any occupation. For example, we did a unit called "working effectively with others", which highlighted the importance of community and goals in the workplace. The knowledge from this unit applies to any career,’ Rose said.
Rose is considering a future career in health and is keen to find out more about a possible career as a Speech Pathologist.
Matilda Boone studied the Certificate II in Hospitality and has already secured her first part-time job working at a local café.
‘I feel having the qualification on my resume gave me a head start when applying for the job and the skills I learnt in customer service, food safety and coffee making really prepared me well for when I started.
‘Plus, they are skills that you can apply to so many different aspects of your life,’ Matilda said.
Grace Marchant is also applying the skills she learnt through her Certificate II in Sport and Recreation to paid work, coaching basketball.
‘I have been coaching 5- to 9-year-olds, but now with this qualification, I am moving into coaching representative teams.
‘I chose the certificate not only for the skills I’ve learnt to apply to my coaching, but because I’m interested in a future career in either sports journalism or sports management.
“Mum and Dad have been really supportive. Dad is a basketball coach also and so he’s pleased I’ve developed a set of skills that will further my own coaching,’ Grace said.
Brianna Higgins is looking at joining the defence force and chose to study the Certificate in Community Services for the breadth of skills she could learn that could be applied across different settings.
Naomi said: ‘Essentially, the certificates aid students to develop a set of really valuable, transferrable skills which will benefit them both now and in their future career pathway.’
https://www.fya.org.au/app/uploads/2021/09/The-New-Work-Mindset_2016.pdf