Mitchell Shire Council Opens Doors for Local Students Through New Work Experience Pilot.
Mitchell Shire Council has piloted a dedicated work experience program for secondary school students across the Shire. The pilot followed several months of planning between Council and Central Ranges LLEN (CRLLEN), with the aim of exposing students to careers in local government they might not otherwise come across.
Once Council committed to the pilot, CRLLEN worked with Careers staff at Broadford Secondary College, Wallan Secondary College and Seymour College to plan how the opportunity would be promoted ahead of Year 10 Work Experience Week.
Jacob Stuart, Organisational Development and Learning Coordinator at Mitchell Shire Council, led the engagement on Council's side, working directly with Broadford Secondary College to build student interest in the weeks beforehand. Promotional material also went out to schools across the Shire.
Pictured: Work experience student, Caleb and Council’s Brendan Kersten.
Thirteen students from Broadford Secondary College signed up, taking part during Work Experience Week from 14 to 18 September. CRLLEN worked with Wallan Secondary College and Seymour College to identify further students and secure placements across Council departments, giving the group a genuine spread of roles to experience.
Getting everyone placed took work behind the scenes: documentation, transport, making sure each student knew where to report on day one. When track works disrupted the Seymour railway line, one student travelling from Puckapunyal was at risk of missing his placement. CRLLEN arranged transport to get him to Broadford and Wallan, and once he'd settled into his department, Council staff took over getting him to and from work for the rest of the week.
Jacob ran a full-day induction covering Council, workplace expectations and what students could expect from the week ahead. Staff feedback afterwards was strong. Several said the students slotted into the work so well it was easy to forget they weren't part of the team. "Some staff even remarked that they found it difficult to remember that the students were on work experience rather than members of their own team."
Rylie Gerry, from Seymour College, spent his week with the engineering team and came away with a much clearer view of where an engineering career could start.
Jacob Stuart, Donato Di Martino, Rylie Gerry and Mohammad Sikder.
“ I totally enjoyed the week working with the engineers. I didn’t realise all the work undertaken by the Council and that there were so many different pathways into becoming an engineer, whether that was through attaining a university degree, through TAFE, or working full time and studying part time. The week was a fantastic opportunity that opened my eyes to the many possibilities of working for Council.”
Wayne Jones, School to Work Programs Facilitator at Central Ranges LLEN, said the pilot was a strong reminder of what's possible when local employers open their doors. "Major employers have an important role to play in helping young people see what is possible within their own community. Seeing the success of this pilot, speaking directly with the students and seeing the value this experience brought to them has reinforced for me just how important these opportunities are. If we want young people to build their futures in our local communities, we need to show them that those futures exist here."
Students also came away with something harder to measure but just as valuable: real relationships with Council staff, the kind that can matter later when they're weighing up study or job options.
Register your organisation to support students with Wayne or via the School to Work Portal, or contact Central Ranges LLEN on 0499 593 104.
Contact
Wayne Jones
School to Work Programs Facilitator
E: wayne@centralrangesllen.org.au