Benalla P-12 College careers advisor Molly Craig, P-12 student Charlie Lewis, NE Tracks LLEN VET co-ordinator Jo Brett, NE Tracks LLEN program co-ordinator Annette Borradale, P-12 student Luke Ward, Benalla Mayor Bernie Hearn, P-12 student Darcy Lindsay, Benalla Rural City Council chief executive Peter Keane and NE Tracks LLEN chief executive Tim Oliver.
Photo by
Simon Ruppert
Students from five Benalla schools had an opportunity to be inspired by career opportunities close to home on Thursday, May 1.
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The Benalla Rural City Council Local Government Careers Expo, held in partnership with NE Tracks Local Learning and Employment Network, provided an insight into the vast range of employment opportunities in the Rose City.
Ne Tracks LLEN chief executive Tim Oliver said it was a bit like speed dating for a career.
“Each of the students gets to spend about 10 minutes with five different council departments,” Mr Oliver said.
“There’s a range of departments to choose from, and we have about 20 departments represented today.
“So the students talk to the people from the departments about what they do each day, and it opens their eyes to the jobs and careers available right here in Benalla with council.”
Mr Oliver said this led to an activity where NE Tracks LLEN organised for students to visit departments that interested them.
“So they’ll spend an hour or two there, and then they can choose one to do work experience with,” he said.
“And there’s some good options. Each department has put a lot of work into making their displays interesting and interactive.”
The exhibiting council departments include the depot, parks and gardens, IT, civil compliance, development, infrastructure and assets, the art gallery and major events, to name a few.
“The IT department has been very interesting,” Mr Oliver said.
“The students have been able to see cybersecurity threats going on all around the world.
“There’s something for everyone’s interests.”
Benalla Mayor Bernie Hearn said the expo was a great opportunity for students, and for council.
“Council has many careers you can get into at a young age, then there’s a path to follow that can lead to promotions,” Cr Hearn said.
“Or they could choose to stay within council and move to a different role.
“Not only that, you can do it in your local town.
“Local government offers so much and such flexibility.
“So you could be working and learning in Benalla, but then you could relocate and go to work in the Northern Territory or Western Australia, and take those skills with you.
“And usually, you’ll get a job in local government in those areas because you’ve been in them already.
“So there’s definitely a career path, good money and great opportunities.”
Benalla P-12 Students at Benalla Rural City Council’s Local Government Careers Expo on Thursday, May 1.
Photo by
Simon Ruppert
Benalla P-12 College careers adviser Molly Craig said she was getting good feedback from students.
“It’s really important for us to provide opportunities for students to find out about different career opportunities that they may not have even known about,” Ms Craig said.
“It’s also about pushing them outside their comfort zone because sometimes they just think, oh, I’m only interested in one area.
“When they come here, they get the opportunity to find out about a whole wide range of career opportunities and maybe find things that they never thought that they would be interested in.”
The expo ran three sessions, with Benalla P-12 College, FCJ College, Australian Christian College Hume, The Flexible Learning Centre and EdSpace taking part.
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