Students from Moree Secondary College and St Philomena’s had the opportunity to think about their future employment this week when the Skillsroad Show came to town.
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Backed by the NSW Business Chamber, the Skillsroad Show is part of the Australian government’s Empowering YOUth initiative, bringing expert career advice and job opportunities to the doorstep of regional young people.
Throughout the past year, the Skillsroad Show caravan has been travelling all over the state to help provide students with career advice and connect them to local employment opportunities.
The Skillsroad Show arrived in Moree on Wednesday, visiting the senior students at St Philomena’s before heading to Moree Secondary College Albert Street campus on Thursday.
As part of the program, a presentation was given to year 9 and 10 students about the importance of career planning and letting them know what employers expect.
Students then had the opportunity to participate in My Career Plan workshops during which Skillsroad career advisor Daniel Mittiga worked with the students on establishing career-planning techniques and opportunities to connect with local employers and training providers to get their foot in the door.
During the workshops, students completed a number of digital assessments including the Resume Builder, Job Fit Test and Career Quiz which provides students with individualised career advice based on their specific skills and interests.
“The idea is to get a better understanding of themselves and to establish suitable occupations and their job readiness,” Mr Mittiga said.
“From there we talk about employment, which is what this all leads to.
“Anyone can get a job, but if we can tailor a career to what students are interested in, they’re likely to be more successful in the long run.”
Year 10 Moree Secondary College student Amealia Turner has plans to study medicine once she completes the HSC and was hoping the Skillsroad Show career planning tools might help her choose which path to follow within medicine.
“I’m not really sure where I want to go but I know I want to do medicine,” she said.
“There are all these different strands of medicine.”
At this stage Amealia is considering obstetrics, anesthesiology or radiology.
She said the Skillsroad Show is great, particularly for people who don’t know what they want to do.
With the youth unempoyment rate climbing to 15.3 per cent in the region, NSW Business Chamber’s regional manager Joe Townsend said it’s important to support young people and help them develop career skills so they can make a smooth transition from school into the workplace.
In addition to getting young people into the right careers for them, the Skillsroad Show aims to encourage local businesses to open their doors to young people and create new opportunities such as work experience, hosting open days and jobs.
“Research has shown the more exposure students have to the workplace during school the more likely they are to find successful employment as an adult,” Mr Townsend said.
“Career-readying young people will help transition them into successful jobs and help make the Moree community a more productive business hub; lowering rates of unemployment, and reducing the cost of churn associated with poor job retention.
“We need to support young people in making career choices. We need to give them the opportunities to make industry connections early on and get their foot in the door.”
To make the ‘Pledge for Youth’ and offer a work experience or job opportunity in your business visit www.pledgeforyouth.com.au