A new program to assist young people to discover their passions and learn about career paths that suit their interests and skills is already having a positive effect on students in the Logan region.
The Building Logan Work Inspiration Program is being supported by BUSY At Work and was delivered to a group of Shailer Park State High School students in November last year.
BUSY At Work National Disability Coordination Officer (NDCO), Alisha Larkin said the program focused on Year 10 students and delivered a hands on tour approach of multiple workplaces to suit different levels of education and skills. NDCO Strategic Project funding was used to support the delivery of the program.
Alisha said students with disability can sometimes face barriers to accessing the same experiences as mainstream students with regard to work experience or employment.
During the four day program the students visited a range of workplaces across the trades and warehousing industries.
“The students in the group had a very limited view of work and for the most part had no real work experience to allow them to make informed choices about future career pathways.”
“With the Building Logan Work Inspiration Program we wanted the students to have a more realistic picture of the workplace and an understanding of employer’s expectations.”
“Through the program they had the opportunity to learn about themselves and the host organisations as well as talk directly about careers in a fun and interactive way,” Ms Larkin said.
Alisha said the Work Inspiration model was a new approach to work experience and was flexible enough to be adapted to the needs of the employer.
“The program is employer led and can be easily tailored to suit the size of an organisation and their capacity.”
“By choosing a cluster model with multiple employers we were able to give the students a high impact experience looking at a variety of jobs across different work environments,” Ms Larkin added.
Alisha said one of the key motivators for the Building Logan Work Inspiration Program was being able to share the experience with the School Transition Officers to allow them to deliver the program.
“The learnings from this program will help them deliver the same program to more students and numerous schools in 2016.”
“With strategic funding through the NDCO Program, the Building Logan Work Inspiration Program was captured for YouTube and will assist future engagement with stakeholders in promoting the benefits of the program,” Ms Larkin said.
BUSY At Work CEO, Paul Miles said BUSY was pleased to be an active supporter of the Work Inspiration Program.
“We are excited to be supporting this program which will greatly contribute to the employment preparation experiences that students can undertake. Feedback from the program indicates that both students and employers are very impressed and equally inspired and motivated after participating in the program,” Mr Miles said.
It is expected that NDCO will look at extending the program to include Year 11 students in the future. To view the program
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MEDIA CONTACT: Leanne Macnamara, Public Relations Coordinator 0438 173 960 leanne.macnamara@busyatwork.com.au
