It’s been a hectic few weeks for BUSY At Work’s Career and Placement Advisor Coordinator, Gillian Quinn and her team at BUSY’s Scarborough Street office in Southport.
The team are extending their opening hours every Tuesday and Wednesday providing free Career Information Nights for Year 12 graduates and their parents throughout the month of November between 5.30pm and 7.30pm.
Gillian said the trial pilot program had been a great success with the first session seeing a number of students gaining interviews for apprenticeship positions.
“We promoted the free information nights through contacting the local school’s career advisors and we’ve received a lot of phone calls from parents wanting to know what career opportunities were available for their children.”
“We have two Career and Placement Advisors available on the night and our goal is to provide a positive experience for both the students and their parents focusing on individually tailored support.”
“It’s a great opportunity to talk with students who are genuinely interested in learning about careers and what they need to do to achieve their goals,” Ms Quinn said.
Gillian said the career’s night was also about providing information about the Australian Apprenticeship Support Services and what Gateway Services BUSY At Work had available to assist students in choosing their careers.
“Through the Gateway Support Services we can provide tailored support including screening, testing and job matching so the right apprentice can be matched with the right apprenticeship and the right employer,” Ms Quinn said.
BUSY At Work has four free career assessment tools to assist students and job seekers in making the right choices for their careers. These are –
- Esher House Apprenticeship Commitment Assessment – designed to test the job seeker’s commitment to an apprenticeship or traineeship.
- Harrison Career Assessment – a psychological pre-assessment tool to gauge job seeker behavior and aptitude and show suitability for a range of career pathways.
- CareerMe – a Smartphone app which provides access to employment information about occupations, job descriptions, training requirements, skills shortages and current job vacancies.
- Apprenticeship Central – a website providing information and resources to promote apprenticeship pathways.
While attending the careers information night students also have the opportunity to gain assistance in updating their resumes and learn about interviewing techniques when applying for a job.
Mrs Bronwyn Furner who attended one of the sessions last Tuesday with her two sons, Riley (aged 17) and Fraiser (aged 20), was full of praise for the support and information provided.
“Gillian and Cherie (pictured) showed a genuine interest in seeing the boys succeed in their chosen careers. They were very passionate and helpful when providing information on career opportunities available in industry and explained to my sons what they will need to do if they want to obtain an apprenticeship. Gillian co-ordinated interviews with a high calibre of employers within days of us attending the careers night. Fraiser and Riley now have an opportunity to kick-start their careers with an apprenticeship. Attendance to the information nights at BUSY are highly recommended,” Mrs Furner said.
Gillian said that if the careers information nights continued to be a success they would consider holding further sessions at BUSY At Work’s Gold Coast office and in Brisbane.
BUSY At Work CEO, Paul Miles was delighted to see that the career information nights were generating a lot of interest among Gold Coast school leavers and helping young people secure their futures.
“We are proud to be able to offer this service free of charge to school leavers and are dedicated to helping them find the right job that will lead to rewarding sustainable careers,” Mr Miles said.
IMAGE CAPTION: (L-R) Daniel Ermer, Fraiser Furner, Riley Furner – Year 12 Student Mount Tamborine College, Gillian Quinn and Cherie Thompson – CAPA team.
MEDIA CONTACT: Leanne Macnamara, Public Relations Coordinator
0438 173 960 leanne.macnamara@busyatwork.com.au
