Welcome to the next article in our National Careers Week series – the theme for 2022 is “Career. More than just a job” and we’ve taken an in-depth look into what your career actually is, and what you can do to take control over it.
Today, we share some fantastic places to find career-related information, and in other posts we’ve looked at:
- The difference between career, job, and work
- What it means to be a lifelong learner
- What you can do with your core skills
- When things go wrong and how to handle career chaos
- What is digital literacy and what does it mean for your career?
- When is the right time to start learning about careers
Finding reliable sources of information
There is a lot of information out there about careers but not all sources are the same, and sometimes the information presented to you could be biased or downright wrong. So how can you determine if the information you’re looking at is accurate and to be trusted?
Here’s a few things to look out for:
- Check if the organisation has a good reputation
- Are they trying to sell you anything?
- Is the provider Australian based?
- Are they members of a relevant association?
Start here
We’ve put together a few resources to get you started on the right track.
Career-related information you can rely on
Use the Government Resources
MyFuture
Packed with tools and resources that could help you to develop self-knowledge and career decision-making, as well as help you to find career pathways and study options.
SkillsRoad
Providing interactive tools that allow you to explore careers and industries, plenty of blogs, training and study options, career planning. Plus there’s lesson plans and other teacher resources, as well as information designed for parents who’d like to support their children to succeed.
National Careers Institute
Designed to connect people with further education opportunities, training, as well as work options, there’s information and support to suit people at any stage of their career.
Course Seeker
This is a great tool that could help you to find and compare (and even apply for) lots of different higher education courses from universities and private institutions.
ComparED
If you know you’d like to do tertiary studies but you’re struggling to decide where to study after you leave you high school, this website compares higher education institutions based on real student experiences and graduate satisfaction.
MySkills
Search for VET courses and registered training providers across Australia including the Preparing Secondary Students for Work framework. You can also explore careers that match your skills.
Labour Market Insights
This is a great site for not only exploring hundreds of different careers as it provides information for things like salary, industry growth, skills required, duties, pathways, and more.
Labour Market Information Portal
This site is a little more technicals and could help your to find up to date information about employment rates, industry information, employment projections, and more. You’ll be able to access the latest news and supporting data, plus you can choose to search by industry or geographic location.
Job Jumpstart
Provides information, activities and practical tips for young people looking to enter the workforce.
JobSearch
Here you can search for current job vacancies across Australia and provide tips and help if you’re looking for work. There’s also Youth Advisory Sessions that could help you to get work ready.
Look for Scholarships
If you’re planning on further study after school, you may be able to get financial support through a scholarship. You can check these places for opportunities as well as information about the eligibility criteria and how to go about applying.
- Study Work Grow Scholarship database
- CEF Scholarships Guide
- Indigenous Scholarships Portal
- Check each institution website for details about scholarships on offer
Some Scholarships come with more than just financial help, these could offer additional benefits and help you to get the most out of your study experience. Some of them even include access to work experience, industry networking and internships that could potentially help you to secure a job after you have finished your studies. They’re called Co-Op Scholarships and could definitely be worth exploring.
Find Competitions
Competitions can be a great way to gain valuable experience and can look really great on your resume or applications. Then of course there’s the added benefit of prizes if you do well.
There are literally hundreds of competitions that you could take part in published every week. Here’s a few places you can start to look for competitions to take part in.
- Study Work Grow Competition database
- Aussie Educator competition listings
- Student Competitions database
- Some unis and other institutions may also run competitions for students – check their websites to find out more
You’ll just need to make sure that you actually see them through, then remember to add them to your list of achievements.
Get first hand information with Work Experience
Work experience is a valuable opportunity explore and give a few different career options a go in a real-life setting.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a few ideas.
- Study Work Grow Work Experience database
- Defence Work Experience Program
- Council and local business websites are a great place to look for work experience opportunities
Virtual work experience is also becoming a more popular option and there are more and more organisations and providers who are providing these opportunities too, so it’s well worth exploring a few of these.
Go to the source directly
If you’re looking for information about individual universities, private providers and VET providers you can search on their websites. Many of them also have help lines and chat bots if you’re struggling to locate the information you need on their pages.
Check with state University Application Centres too, they’re:
And if there’s an organisation that you’d like more information about, then there’s absolutely nothing to stop you reaching out to them directly. For industries, you could also try approaching a relevant association or governing body for the answers.
Let us do the research for you
Study Work Grow gives you access to Australia’s largest collection of school careers news and resources. Researched and updated every school week, you can get all of the news delivered straight to your inbox. It’s the easiest way to stay informed.
Find out more at studyworkgrow.com.au
