Making A Difference

Gateway’s Project Officer, Marc Swensson, recently invited SA Great’s

“Speakers In Schools” to visit Port Pirie and surrounding areas.  Making the trip from Adelaide, Jessica (SA Great), Lesley & Helen (ElectraNet), Andrea (Technology Industry Association) joined Marc (Gateways), Shaker & Elmore (JHI Builders) at John Pirie Secondary School, Mid North Christian College and Gladstone High School to talk to Year 10 & 11 students about their respective careers and pathways. 

With Marc acting as emcee, Lesley kicked off the presentation, sharing stories from days organizing the very first Tour Down Under, to her time in Italy and Nepal, to her current role as a Project Scheduler.  Armed with a Vegemite jar prop and give-away’s being thrown left, right and centre, Andrea then spoke about the different ways that technology is used in industry today. 

Local legends Brenton (“Shaker”) and Elmore from JHI Builders talked about

the benefits of volunteer work, supporting locals and Elmore’s journey to becoming Apprentice Of The Year.  All presenters were young, passionate and inspired all students in attendance.  Gateways thank all the students and schools for their support, and a big thank you goes to all the speakers for generously giving their time.

Olympic-sized Fun @ BHP Billiton

On September 2nd, over 40 students from John Pirie Secondary School and Australian Technical College took part in Gateway’s annual road trip to Olympic Dam.  It was the first time many of the students had been to Roxby Downs, so after a tour of the town and some lunch, it was off to Olympic Dam.  The excursion included an overview of the proposed mine expansion and guided tour of Olympic Dam by BHP Billiton Public Affairs Officer, Deb Ainslie; CEG’s Darren Lowe spoke about employment opportunities; plus an explaination of radiation and safety procedures on site.  Students were given the opportunity to ask any questions they had about mining and related industries and everyone got a good laugh (and photo opportunity) when we could dress up in the compulsory safety gear & uniform (including the affectionately titled “Disco Pants”).  Gateways also supplied Subway sandwiches for lunch, snacks, drinks and movies for the bus ride – keeping everyone entertained and fresh as a daisy.  Complete with a trip to Bree Park’s bird sanctuary in Woomera and Hungry Jack’s for tea, the trip was long, but informative and enjoyed by all.

Career Expo Extras

it’s all about technique	Here we can see one of the many interactive displays from the Careers Expo. Apprentice painter, Will Young, shows this student the proper technique required for simple painting jobs, such as how to hold the brush correctly.
Child Care	There was lots of information to be found at the TAFE SA stall including info on Child Care courses, certificates in Retail and almost every other career you can think of! TAFE is a great avenue to follow up if you don’t particularly want to go to University but still want to continue studying.
Trainees: Workforce of the Future	These young trainees: Lauren Lowe, from ANZ Bank, with Brooke Smith and Kayla Hayes from Port Pirie Regional Council occupied their respective stalls advocating the advantages of on-the-job training in both finance and administration.
Acrylic Beauty	Haylee Pisani, owner of Bedazzled Beauty, gave students a close-up demonstration of how acrylic nails are applied by putting one on each student that popped by the Hair & Beauty stall  - needless to say there were a LOT of girls getting around with one sparkly, acrylic nail.
OZ Minerals Info	OZ Minerals representative Ross Sawes and Southern Flinders Regional Development Board member Terry Reichelt give this Peterborough High student some valuable information on employment in the mining sector.
Olympic Gold Medalist - Kyle Vander Kuyp	Kyle Vander-Kuyp, once a medal winning Olympic hurdler, is now a Dept. of Human Services Ambassador. Kyle was on the Centrelink stall, next to Gateways, at the Careers Expo, he will be appearing later in the year at Vibe Alive festival in Pt Augusta.
Manscaping Marc	Gateways for Youth Project Officer, Marc, shows that having your nails done is an essential part of manscaping before a gig – after having his nails buffed they were given a black polish for the next Sideshow gig – sweet as.

Southern Flinders Careers Expo 2009

Hair & Beauty demo

The Southern Flinders Career Expo returned to Port Pirie in 2009 – with more than 30 exhibitors peddling their informational wares to students from schools around the region. Students were able to move from stall to stall gathering information in many forms such as pack, pamphlets and good old verbal communication!

Schools that came to the Careers Expo included John Pirie Secondary School, Saint Marks College, the Australian Technical College, Mid North Christian College, Jamestown Community, Gladstone High, Peterborough High School, Booleroo Area School and Orroroo Area School.

Nyrstar display

Defectable vehicle

One of the very popular interactive displays was the ‘little red car’ which had a plethora of defective features which students were invited to try and find. The aim of the display was, not only to show students how many defects can be found on a vehicle and raise awareness of the importance of road safety, but also as an introduction to ‘a Day in the Life of’ a mechanic.

Another very popular ‘hands-on’ display was the ‘Tyre Changing Station’. Students were given a checklist to follow when changing a tyre, they were then give an opportunity to have a go at changing the tyre themselves to see how well they managed the task. Some found this no challenge at all while others struggled a little with the cumbersome task.

Spare tyre

We <3 Higher Learning

There was something for everyone at the Careers Expo, as well as the trades displays and other businesses who attended, there was also a place for those who planned to go on to University, with Uni SA and Flinders Uni in attendance with an abundance of course guides and information for students. Clearly, this was a big hit with many students who wish to go on to higher learning.

Another of the very popular stalls at the Careers Expo was the Australian Defence Forces display. With representatives from the Army, Navy and Air Force – the stall was buzzing all day with students interested in gaining ADFA training while also studying for a nationally recognised degree in one of a many number of fields.

Australian Defence Forces

Gateways a-go-go

Another stall that was buzzing throughout the day was our very own Gateways for Youth stall, with Marc, Liz and Rhianna (left) taking it in turns to be ‘on deck’ & give out information on Gateways, what we do, and how we can help students to discover which career might be for them. One of the most popular hand-outs of the day was the Job Matrix, which shows students projected statistics about almost any job you could think of!

Discovery Day Randoms

Following are some more random photos from the Discovery Day Seminar conducted with John Pirie Secondary School:

Studious Students	Outdoor types enjoying working outside
Peek-a-boo Pat!	Here’s the boys…working hard.

Expressing Positivity through Creativity

During the Discovery Day session on positive Self-Esteem students were placed into groups and asked to create a poster about positive self-esteem using various craft materials including, coloured card, feathers, sequins, stickers, glitter pens, textas and their own imaginations.

There were some excellent quotes and slogans that came out of this exercise which helped the students to focus on positive self talk and how their own self-esteem can help or hinder their path in life depending on how positive or negetive they are.

Working towards Discovery

The Discovery Day seminar was run as a day-long event for Year 11 students from John Pirie Secondary School on March 26th, 2009. The seminar was split into 3 seperate sessions, each focussing on a different aspect of the journey towards knowing yourself a little better, they were:

• Self Discovery
• Career Development; and;
• Self Esteem

The day started off with the Self Discovery session which took a closer look at values and what a pivotal role they play in choosing a future career or pathway, the session also looked at how your values drive you to succeed within your chosen career path.

The second session saw students complete a Career Profile quiz which revealed which field of interest their future career may lie in according to what they enjoy doing. The fields of interest were:

• People Contact
• Scientific
• Creative
• Office
• Outdoor
• Business
• Practical

The students were then able to take a closer look at their individual field of interest and what different occupations come under that group, they were also able to see what level of study is required for certain occupations which can sometimes be a major deciding factor as to whether a person will continue down one path or choose an alternative.

The third, and final, session was based around Self Esteem and how it impacts on our lives and the decisions we make. Two guest speakers were featured in this session with an interactive “question time” after the main interview, which was lead by Gateways for Youth’s Flinders project officer, Marc Swensson. Our 2 guest speakers for the day were local hairdresser and business owner, Christie Capurso from HairVibe by Christie; and; Dylan Champion, a cadet technical officer from SA Water who is currently studying an Associate Degree in Civil Engineering. The student participation during question time was excellent with many varied queries about how each of our guests go to be where they are today. Both Christie and Dylan were great examples of young local people who have gone on to become successful in their own right.

The Self Esteem session was capped off with a fun, creative activity in which students were divided into teams, each of which was asked to design a poster which promoted positive self-esteem and it’s benefits on your life. There were many excellent slogans and much creative energy put into the posters (and even a tongue twister or two!!).

All in all the day was deemed a great success by both the Gateways for Youth team and also by the students who provided some excellent positive feedback. 

Check-In for D-Day

Students from John Pirie Secondary School were treated to a day long seminar run by Gateways for Youth known as Discovery Day. The day started off with a check-in at the door to collect name tags before grabbing a seat on the journey to self discovery.

You Beauty!!

‘A Taste of TAFE’ was held on December 4th, 2008 for Year 10 students from John Pirie Secondary School. The day was divided into two sessions, each running for approximately two hours each, with a variety of vocations on offer for students to ‘test drive’.

There were a variety of information seminars going on around the TAFE Campus which included Administration & Retail, Boilermaking & Welding, Automotive, Electrical, Hospitality, Childcare, Information Technology, Health and Hair & Beauty.

Here we can see some of the students who took part in the Hair & Beauty sessions, which were highly popular with the female students, in which they were shown the tricks and tips to a flawless face for all occasions and, more particularly, how to blend their eyeshadow.

Students were also shown some fundamental, yet little known, tips to perfect hair styles such as how to properly and securely place a bobby pin, how to backcomb hair for body and fullness without knotting, how to curl hair using a straightening iron and many simple, do-it-yourself styles for any occasion, all of which were a roaring success!

Toying with the Future

As part of the ‘Taste of TAFE’ seminars held on December 4th, 2008, students took part in various seminars to ‘road test’ the different inductries they might be interested in pursuing after school. One of the many sessions on offer was Child Care.

During the Child Care sessions students took part in animated story reading, the art of making play-doh (and then using it, much to the delight of their inner-child) and also making coloured ‘goo’ out of cornflour, water and food colouring. This was a particular favourite among the students as when it is  being handled quickly it is solid but when it is stationary it transforms into a gooey mess. There were many blue and green tinged hands getting around the Campus after that.

Who knew making a mess and having fun could be all in a days work?

Next Page »