School Case Studies

Beyond the dream job: real career insights, with Loreto Normanhurst

The Careers Department — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:37:03 GMT

Alexi Kayes leads a structured, whole-school careers program designed to guide students from early exposure through to confident post-school decision-making. With a strong focus on both self-discovery and industry exploration, the program supports students at every stage of their career journey.

From career taster to career pathways, with WA's Year 9 Career Taster Program

The Careers Department — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:32:00 GMT

Opportunity

Turning career exploration into ongoing student habit, with Kildare Catholic College

The Careers Department — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:11:42 GMT

Opportunity

“The hardest part of my job has always been exposing students to things they haven’t already been exposed to.”

Many students were relying on familiar influences, often limiting their thinking to careers they already knew through family or community. The school needed a way to consistently broaden student awareness and keep them engaged beyond one-off lessons, while also supporting teachers to play a more active role in careers conversations.

Careers Program Structure

Careers education at Kildare is designed to be both structured and continuous.

Each student participates in one dedicated careers lesson per term, with classes rotated across subjects to minimise disruption while ensuring consistent exposure. “Teachers are happy to do it that way because they only miss one lesson, but students still get four careers lessons a year.”

In addition, daily “Coaching” sessions provide a regular touchpoint. “It’s only about 30 minutes, but it gives us the opportunity to do careers in a really consistent way.”

Teachers are included in these sessions, building their own understanding over time. “If they’ve been in those careers lessons, when something comes up in coaching, they’ve already got that background. It becomes professional learning for them as well.”

How TCD is Used

The Careers Department is used across both structured lessons and coaching sessions, allowing for regular, low-pressure engagement.

Karen has designed activities that centre around the platform, encouraging both guided and independent exploration. “I can say to students, here’s this amazing program with all this content on it, go and explore.”

The platform also supports continuity across year levels. “Often Year 12s have done it before, so when Year 10s are doing it, they can ask older students for help. That reinforces it for everyone.”

From a teacher perspective, visibility of engagement is key. “One of the things I love is the analytics. I might run an activity during the day, and then that night I can see students logging back on again.”

Key Features Used

Expanding career awareness beyond traditional pathways, with Canley Vale High School

The Careers Department — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 10:50:47 GMT

OPPORTUNITY

Many students were gravitating towards a narrow set of traditional career pathways, often limited to well-known professions such as medicine, law, and engineering. The key challenge was not capability, but awareness. Students simply lacked exposure to the breadth of careers available to them.

At the same time, the school was working towards embedding careers education across all faculties, but faced constraints around time and access to structured resources.

CAREERS PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Careers education is primarily delivered through senior programs, including the Year 11 and 12 ‘My Working Life’ and ‘Work Studies’ courses. These subjects focus on helping students begin their career exploration journey, understand their strengths, and connect learning to future pathways.

The program is designed to align with curriculum outcomes while giving students practical tools to explore, reflect, and plan their next steps.

HOW TCD IS USED

The Careers Department is used as a flexible, student-led platform that supports both in-class and independent exploration. Given limited class time, students are introduced to the platform in short sessions and then encouraged to engage with it independently.

It is also embedded into key career development moments, particularly in Year 12, where students are required to complete profiling and build resumes as part of their post-school planning process.

KEY FEATURES USED

Profiling: Helps students identify strengths, interests, and potential pathways, often reinforcing or expanding their thinking
Career Exploration: Enables students to independently explore industries and roles beyond traditional options
Virtual Work Experience: Provides additional exposure to real-world roles where physical access is limited
Resume Builder: Supports practical job-readiness tasks with customisation and built-in guidance
Teaching Resources: Used to engage other faculties and support a whole-school approach to careers

Delivering scalable work experience and industry exposure, with Newman Senior Technical College

The Careers Department — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 10:45:53 GMT

CAREERS PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Newman’s careers program is built around early exposure to work and flexible VET pathways.

In Year 11, students complete a work readiness program in Term 1 before moving into one day per week of work experience, alongside up to three VET subjects.

By Year 12, students reduce to one VET subject and can undertake up to two days of work experience per week. This structure allows them to balance practical learning with their final year commitments, while also working towards a Certificate III.

The college also delivers an Industry-Based Learning program, where placements are supported within class time, including managing contracts, hours, and preparation for the workplace.

Re-imagining subject selections, with Cranbrook School

The Careers Department — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 15:33:28 GMT

Cranbrook partnered closely with The Careers Department to redesign its subject selection process, moving from a static, information-heavy experience to a guided, student-led journey. Together, they co-developed a dynamic Subject Selection Tool that is now being scaled nationally across schools.