National Careers Week is an initiative of the Career Industry Council of Australia, dedicated to celebrating careers, guidance, and development.

Here are some EPP highlights from National Careers Week 2024:

Narrabri High School (13 May):
Narrabri High School hosted an Aboriginal student and family work readiness program, combining industry immersion with career planning.

Glendale Technology High School (15 May):
As part of the Innovating Careers Education initiative, a Year 10 Pathways Day featured TAFE mobile training units, SBAT presentations, VET workshops and job readiness activities.

Apprenticeship and Traineeship Head Start:
Pre-apprenticeship and pre-traineeship courses continued to run across the week, with HunterNet and CCGT offering manufacturing courses in Rutherford and Gosford. Novaskill had two courses running in Newcastle, the first in building and construction and the second in community services and allied health.

TAFE NSW Start Your Future
There was no shortage of courses offered from this initiative during National Careers Week. Across most school groups, taster courses ran in a range of industries including Electrotechnology, Animal Care, Real Estate, Beauty, Aviation, and IT.

Media spotlight
On 17 May, two school-based apprentices studying fitting and machining, Harmony and Bella, featured on ABC Radio Newcastle. Harmony, from Callaghan College Jesmond Senior Campus, and Bella, from Toronto High School, talked about succeeding in a non-traditional trade pathway, along with Cassie Wells, Head Teacher Careers for the Lake Macquarie group. Cassie and Harmony talked about the benefits of learning new skills, the support offered through the EPP, and exploring career opportunities through their SBATs.

The hard work and dedication of Holly Pastor, careers adviser at Bomaderry High School, was recognised in an article in the South Coast Register. Her valuable work helping students align their interests and passions to potential career opportunities was recognised.

Looking ahead

To all our wonderful careers and transition advisers, Head Teacher Careers and SBAT Engagement Officers – thank you!