Students develop professional skills

A group of 21 students from Year 9 at Brisbane Water Secondary College Umina campus spent a day at the University of Newcastle Ourimbah Campus on August 18 to develop their long-term professional and social skills.

College careers adviser Ms Nerrida Lewis said she had successfully applied for a grant under the NSW School-to-Work Funding program to work with the students to improve their skills in preparation for the college's annual mock interviews.

"Last year I had discovered that some of the students felt like they needed better preparation for the mock interviews not in terms of things like their CV and answering questions but in terms of what to wear, grooming and body language," Ms Lewis said.

"Before the day, I asked our 14 team leaders (head teachers) to put forward the names of students they thought would benefit from the day at Ourimbah and it was basically invitation-only," she said.

"We worked through topics like interview dress sense and what it was appropriate to wear to an interview, hygiene and grooming and body language," she said.

The students learned the importance of shaking hands and more practical skills such as how to put a neck tie on and how to iron their interview outfit.

"Then we all sat down to a three-course lunch and the students learned table etiquette including what cutlery to use and when," Ms Lewis said.

"At the end of the meal, the whole cook and wait staff came out for a question and answer session to give the students an understanding of what staff were involved in the preparation and service of their meal and it was an opportunity for them to get some careers guidance on the hospitality industry," she said.

"The day was an opportunity to get the students motivated and ready for the mock interview day later in the year.

"Some students will already have jobs by the time they get to the mock interview day but most of the application processes for casual jobs are online these days so the mock interview day is a different experience.

"Our mock interviews are with an interview panel of two or three people for 20 minutes and that requires a difference set of skills," she said.

Ms Lewis said she'd considered the day at Ourimbah Campus a success.

"They students may not have even realised the skills they learned during the day and may not realise until in a few years' time when they get taken out with the team they are working with and at least then they will have some basic skills.

"It will help the students to gain confidence in a social or professional environment; they have been given some long-term life skills," she said.

Interview, 30 Aug 2016

Nerrida Lewis, Brisbane Water Secondary College

Reporter: Jackie Pearson