Highlights from 2023 include:
Students impressed employers with their workplace skills
Work experience provides students with a great opportunity to discover the ‘world of work’. Students are able to observe a variety of work experiences in an industry of their choice and undertake supervised tasks which are appropriate to their skill level.
Year 10 students are encouraged to complete Work Experience and gain insight into their occupation or industry of choice. Work Experience helps students with their career planning as it provides an opportunity to explore possible career paths and their suitability for them. Work experience also assists students with their subject choices in senior school.
We are thrilled that an increasing number of students are taking the opportunity to learn and build upon their workplace skills.
Students are studying for their HSC while also gaining VET qualifications and work skills
Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications have been developed with the specific goal of preparing students with skills for the workplace. The number of students studying VET courses has been slowly increasing each year. Last year saw over 35 Warners Bay High students attend TAFE delivered courses across our local campuses. Students study a variety of courses such as: Tourism, Travel and Events, Animal Studies, Construction, Automotive, Business Services, Retail, Digital Animation, Design Fundamentals, Electrotechnology and Entertainment.
We are very proud of all our TVET graduates; however we are especially proud of 6 Year 12 students who successfully completed their Certificate III in Health Services Assistance through School Based Traineeships with Hunter New England Health.
Safety in the Workplace
Over the past 12 months Careers has provided 80 students with the opportunity to gain their National WHS General Construction Induction training, also known as the White Card. Last year, four courses were run at school to prepare students for work in the construction industry and on worksites which are under construction. Many people are surprised to learn that students studying Entertainment Industry must also have this certification, as productions often require the construction of scaffolding for stages and sets. This general safety training is relevant and valuable to any student wishing to upskill.
Youth Engagement Strategy (YES) Program
The Youth Engagement Strategy program (YES) is a program which helps students identify potential career pathways through vocational tasters across a wide range of industries, delivered at a local TAFE NSW campus. This program gets students out of the school setting into TAFE-style learning, usually attending a TAFE NSW campus one day per week over 5 weeks.
Warners Bay High School had 40 students participate in these programs that included: Animal Care, Dental Assisting, Animation, Nursing, Electrotechnology, Metal Fabrication, Cookery and Barista, Mechatronics, AUSLAN, Beauty Therapy, Hairdressing, Flooring, Music Production and Introduction to Defence Forces. These courses took place at five of our local TAFE campuses and offered great exposure to life in a tertiary setting.
TAFE Carpentry Engagement Courses at Newcastle Campus
TAFE Newcastle also hosted a taster course where 20 WBHS Year 9 students developed their skills in carpentry, construction and competence with a wide array of tools.
Year 12 Excursion to the University of Newcastle
Over 100 Year 12 students toured three University of Newcastle campuses in 2023. UON Student Ambassadors showed Year 12 students the state-of-the-art teaching and learning spaces, their favourite study spots, and of course - where to get the best snacks on campus. Not only did they get a personalised tour, but students also had the opportunity to ask many questions about what uni life is really like.
Successful School Leavers read their Careers Emails
All students from Years 10, 11 and 12 are sent weekly emails from the Careers Team. This enables students seeking work to access the latest job vacancies, apprenticeships and traineeships on offer in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region. Each year students actively seeking employment gained valuable information on job vacancies via this weekly email. Students seeking employment should make a habit of checking this weekly email as it has been the catalyst for numerous cases of employment over the past few years.
Parents and carers who would also like to receive this weekly email should contact the Careers Adviser to request this weekly Jobs Flyer email.
Successful School Leavers
The last 12 months has seen a significant number of Warners Bay High students successfully transition into local apprenticeships, traineeships and tertiary study at TAFE and university. A number of these students gained employment after demonstrating desirable workplace skills during work experience or TAFE delivered VET work placement.
The Careers team are very proud of all our students, and we would like to wish them all the very best as they embark on their next chapter of learning in the workplace or as they pursue further studies.
