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Publish Date: 5 September 2022
Answering this question is a challenge that every student faces and causes equal amounts of anxiety for their parents or guardians.
The transition from school to the workforce is far from seamless. To help to bridge that gap North Central LLEN recently reached out to the Buloke Shire Council to channel the aspirations of year-nine students at Donald High School to careers at the organisation.
Acting Manager of Works, Judy Chapman, gave students a guided tour of the Donald Depot, where they talked with some of the outdoor staff about how they came to work at Council, and the kinds of qualifications or life skills they needed to kick-start their careers.
They also visited Council’s main office at Wycheproof and met with the executive team; CEO Wayne O’Toole, Director of Infrastructure and Delivery Hannah Yu, and Director Community Development, Travis Fitzgibbon, who gave a brief overview of more than 30 different kinds of jobs at Council.
“Council is invested in growing our own high performing talent and the opportunity to engage with these young people will not only open their eyes to how they can build their careers at Council, but also their confidence in making informed choices about the maze of options out there,” said Buloke Shire Council CEO Wayne O’Toole.
“This is a great initiative as some industries can struggle to engage with school leavers. There are many job opportunities available in Buloke to consider when they leave school, or to come back to.”
Students liaised with several staff and asked questions about what they have done since they left school and any advice they could offer? This included staff from payroll and accounts payable, information technology, media and communications, youth and early years child development, human resources, local laws, town planning, urban and parks, administration of public pools and building maintenance, waste and environment and roads and emergency management.
The overwhelming messages from staff were that everyone takes a different career pathway; “to take it easy”, “try different jobs” and continue to “develop teamwork skills”. All found rewarding jobs at Council and emphasised that working in public service gave them the additional self-satisfaction of doing something to support the community.
For more information about careers at Buloke, visit: www.buloke.vic.au/employment or call Human Resources on 1300 520 520.