O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

What is work?

What is work?
1. Give an example of each type of paid and unpaid work

Work

Unpaid Paid

Type Example Type Example

Education/ Self-
training employment

Voluntary/ Full-time
community employment
service

Family duties Part-time

employment

Household Casual
duties employment

Leisure Seasonal
employment

Could any of the examples you have given be included in another box in this
table?
2. Write a definition of work.
Work is:

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

What is work?

Would you
Task Is this work? Paid?
enjoy this?
Non-
Work Paid Unpaid Yes No
work
Sending emails
Feeding pets
Bushwalking
Answering the telephone
Gardening
Taking photos
Downloading from the internet
Cleaning your room
Shopping for groceries
Doing homework
Musical instrument practice
Walking a dog
Making a powerpoint slideshow
Washing your clothes
Going to school
Watching TV
Fixing your bike
Washing a car
Listening to music
Phone texting
Babysitting
Shopping for clothes
Ironing clothes
Sports training
Washing dishes
Playing computer games
Organising a party with friends
Mowing the lawn
Seeing a movie
Playing sport
Driving
Cooking a meal
Umpiring sport

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Why work?

What careers can offer

Investigate one occupation from the list below. Rate it out of 10 in terms of the
criteria – Interest, Job satisfaction, Money, Hours of work, Prestige, Legal
Responsibility.

Job Legal
Hours
Career Interest satisfac Money Prestige respons Total
of work
-tion -ibility

Mechanic

Psychologist

Teacher

Engineer

Truck Driver

Nurse

Carpenter

Hairdresser

Lawyer

Politician

Self-
employed
consultant

Chef

Find other people in your class who have investigated the same career. Compare
your ratings and try to come up with a consensus rating for that occupation.
Present your findings to the rest of the class.
Fill in the ratings for all the occupations as each group presents their findings.
The ‘most desirable’ occupation for our class is:

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Researching careers

Gathering careers information

An important part of career decision making is investigating the occupations in which you are interested.
This handout gives you ideas on how to obtain occupational information, which contributes to overall
employability.

Read
• The Jobguide (book or website www.jobguide.dest.gov.au).
• Internet sites that have information about occupations e.g. Youth Central at
http://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/ and myfuture at www.myfuture.edu.au.
• Newspaper job advertisements for useful, up-to-date information on available jobs. Saturday
morning newspapers are often the best. The Age includes a special section on careers every
Saturday.
• Information from professional organisations, employer associations, Industry Training
Advisory bodies, and unions. Find contact information in the Job guide, or Youth Central or
myfuture websites (see the ‘Further information’ section), or the telephone book (white and yellow
pages).
• Universities, TAFE institutes and private training organisations brochures or websites about
courses, the occupations the courses lead to, and destinations of their students.

Access your allies – Talk to

• Your parent and relatives They can tell you about jobs. Also, as they know you better than most
other people, they may be able to help you think about jobs that suit you.
• Your own information ‘network’ of family friends, neighbours, sports coaches, people you work
with etc who have knowledge about the world of work.
• People who do the job Most people don’t mind talking about their work as long as you are polite,
show interest, come prepared with questions, and don’t take too long.
• Employers can give you a picture of how jobs fit into their organisation. Ask them about
educational requirements, employment opportunities and conditions of work, but remember that
these aspects of the job may vary between employers.
• Course providers to tell you about the occupations their courses prepare you for.

Go and see
Careers Markets and Expos that are run in cities and regional centres.
Career Information Centres have a wide range of career information. In Victoria there are services in:
Melbourne (Phone, post or email service only) PO Box 571 Rosanna 3084; Ph: (03) 9299 1038
Fax: (03) 9403 8898; Email: cic.mel@centrelink.gov.au
Geelong Customer Service Centre, 1st Floor (rear), 170 Lt. Malop St, Geelong VIC 3220; PO Box
263 Geelong 3220; Ph: (03) 5228 6323; Fax: (03) 5228 6298; Email:
cic.geelong@centrelink.gov.au

Experience…
Through different workplace learning activities such as work experience, part-time work, and
volunteering.
Work experience organised through your school, or by holiday or part-time jobs.
Vocational Education and Training courses at school allow you to experience tasks required in a
specific occupation or industry and can include structured workplace learning.
Jobs – holiday, casual or part-time.

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Researching careers

Researching careers (Year 6, 7 and 8)

As you work through these exercises, place a tick in the box or boxes which you think best answers
each question.
NAME OF JOB: _____________________________________________________________________

Features of the job

1. Would the job involve working:
indoors? outdoors? in the city?
in the country? in another town? in another state?
with small business? in a large organisation? in an office?
2. Would the job involve working:
by yourself? with customers or clients? with animals?
as part of a team? with people? with machines?
3. Would the premises be:
clean? smelly? hot or cold?
dirty? dangerous? noisy?
4. Would the job involve:
being your own boss? being supervised a little? supervising others?
being supervised constantly?
Describe the features of this job, especially the things that attract you.

Work Activities
Does the job involve:
mainly sitting? standing still in one place? using complicated machinery?
handling heavy objects? handling light objects? moving around occasionally?
moving around a lot? talking a lot? using simple machinery?
designing things? writing reports? doing a lot of mathematics?
working with animals? working with computers? reading order forms or letters?
growing things? using scientific equipment? looking after customers/clients?
Describe what you would do in this job.

Physical factors
What physical factors are important for this job?
certain height? certain age? physical fitness?
good hearing? good colour vision? good ordinary vision?
able to withstand heights? mobility? no allergies?
Describe the physical factors that are important for this job, (include factors that you know of, and are not
listed above).

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Researching careers

Personal qualities
What personal qualities are needed to be able to do this job:
to be especially patient? to be good at figures? to be good with machinery?
to be good at writing? to be good at reading? to get on well with people?
to have initiative? to speak well? to be able to make decisions?
to be especially trustworthy? to be able to concentrate for long periods of time?
to be a happy person most of the time?
Describe the personal qualities that are important for this job (include other qualities that you know of,
that are not listed above).

Education and training requirements

1. What minimum educational level do you need to reach at school, before you can enter this job?
2. Are there any subjects that you need to take at Years 10, 11 or 12? List the subjects required.
Year 10 ____________________________________________
Year 11 ____________________________________________
Year 12 ____________________________________________
3. Do you need further education or training after leaving secondary school? ___________________
4. What training courses are necessary to become qualified in this occupation and how long do they
take?

5. Does training for this job require a traineeship or an apprenticeship? _______________________

6. Name some other jobs that may require similar skills or interests.

7. What do you like about this job?

8. What don’t you like about this job?

9. Do you feel this job might suit you? Explain why or why not.

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Researching careers

Researching careers (Year 9 and 10)

Remember to consult all the sources of information in the Gathering information handout

NAME OF JOB: _____________________________________________________________________

Task Description
1. Describe the tasks involved in this job. Is there a variety of tasks? Write about the different tasks
you would do over the whole week. Indicate the proportion of time spent on each.
2. Are you reasonably independent in deciding how to do the day’s work or does someone else plan
and supervise it for you?
3. How much responsibility do you have in this work? What are you responsible for (e.g. machines,
other people, money, decisions)?
4. How difficult is it to do this work? Is it physically, mentally, or emotionally demanding?
5. What sort of people will you come in contact with during your work (e.g. other staff, clients,
customers, the general public)? How will you be relating to them (e.g. working with, helping, selling,
advising, teaching)?

Conditions of Work
1. What kind of organisation might you work for (e.g. cooks work for hotels, motels, restaurants,
catering organisations, etc.)?
2. Where would you work (e.g. office, factory, outdoors)? Describe the physical conditions of the work
(e.g. clean, dirty, noisy, smelly, hot, cold, dangerous).
3. What equipment and facilities are provided for this work (e.g. tools, uniforms)? What equipment
would you have to buy (e.g. chef’s knives, doctor’s stethoscope, etc.)?
4. What are the usual working hours for the job? Does it involve shift work?
5. Is overtime available/required?
6. Would you be employed on a seasonal basis or a yearly basis?
7. What annual holidays and long-service leave are available?
8. What other types of leave are available - sick leave, maternity leave, study leave?
9. Is it necessary for you to join a union or a professional organisation? If so, which one?
10. What is the salary range of people working in this occupation?
11. Are there any special benefits of work in this job (e.g. discount on company products, good
superannuation, salary packaging, company car, etc.)?

Personal attributes, skills and other requirements

1. What personal attributes do you need to have or to develop to be able to do this job (e.g. loyalty,
honesty, reliability, adaptability, motivation, good personal presentation)?
2. What are the most important employability skills needed for this job?
3. What job specific skills are needed for this job?
2. List any physical factors which are important for this job (e.g. colour vision, physical strength,
height, able to work at heights).
3. What other special requirements do you need before doing this type of job (e.g. Australian
citizenship, age, driver’s licence, special skills, previous experience in other jobs, foreign language
ability, first aid certificate)?

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Researching careers

Educational requirements
1. What minimum educational level do you need to reach before you can enter this occupation?
2. Are there any subjects that you need to do at Years 10, 11 and 12? List the subjects required and
any necessary achievement levels. Indicate which subjects are absolutely essential, and which are
recommended but not essential.
3. Can you enter the job straight from school or do you need further education?

Gaining qualifications (Omit this section if no further education or training is required)

1. What education/training courses are necessary to become qualified in this occupation and where
are thy offered? (include course, institution and location, length of course, what costs are incurred
and what financial assistance is available)
2. Indicate whether the courses can be studied by full-time (F), part-time (P), external (X), or flexible
(Flx) methods.
3. How do you apply to enter these courses?
4. Is it necessary for you to enter into any form of training agreement with your employer (e.g.
apprenticeship, traineeship)? What would be your commitment as a party to the agreement?

Employment prospects
1. Are vacancies for positions in this occupation advertised often?
2. Is it difficult to obtain employment in this occupation? Give reasons for your answer.
3. Are there firms or organisations in your local area that employ these workers? If so list them. In
what sorts of towns or locations is it possible to find this type of work?
4. Are there promotional pathways in this job? How quickly can you be promoted? What would be
required of you before you could gain promotion (e.g. age, ability, education, experience)?
7. Name the positions to which you could be promoted.
8. What do are the future prospects of work in this occupation (e.g. is the need for such work likely to
increase or decrease)? Give reasons for your answer.
9. Having gained experience in this occupation, is it possible to enter into different fields of
employment? List two possible fields you could enter.

Job stability
1. Can a person trained in this job start his/her own business? Give reasons for your answer.
2. Is this job equally suited for people of all ages, or is it mainly suited for a particular age group? Give
reasons for your answer.
3. Does this job enable you to gain employment with another organisation or in another town or state?
Give reasons for your answer.
4. Is work in this job on a permanent, temporary, full-time, part-time, contract or casual basis?

Your personal evaluation

What do you think the good points or advantages of this job are for you? What are the bad points or
disadvantages?
Can you see yourself in this occupation? Do you think it would satisfy your personal values and work
values? Explain why or why not.

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Researching careers

Researching careers peer assessment

STUDENT NAME: ___________________________________________________________________

NAME OF JOB: _____________________________________________________________________

Is there a good description of the job, e.g. type of tasks performed in the position,
products or services provided?

Are the working conditions and environment described? e.g. location of work, safety
requirements, equipment used, hours of work and leave provisions, special
conditions (danger money), uniform and dress, indoor or outdoor work, union
membership

Are the wages/salaries for the job outlined? e.g. salary range, any special
conditions for overtime work, or special benefits

Are the job specific skills required for tasks within the job identified? e.g. manual,
mechanical, writing, speaking or other skills

Are the employability skills that apply to the job identified? e.g. leadership,
communication, problem solving

Are any other special requirements that apply to the job identified? e.g. licences,
first aid certificates, other language proficiency

Are the education or training qualifications required for the job outlined? e.g.
TAFE/universities/apprenticeships/traineeships, school level, and required subjects

Are employment prospects, now and in the future outlined?

Are the advantages and disadvantages of the job outlined? e.g. long hours, flexible
hours, good pay, bonuses

Has the student evaluated or judged his or her own personal suitability for job? e.g.
do you think the presenter is capable of doing this job? Why? What skills or
competencies would they have to develop to have a good chance of getting into this
job or career?

Has the student gathered material from a range of sources, e.g. websites, personal
interviews, library, Career Information Centre or Job Network member?

Comments:

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Dicing with life

Dicing with life

Roll a dice three times (one for each of Settings, Skills and Opportunities) and
work out what type of career you have. Research and identify the types of jobs
that fit with these three aspects. Discuss how doing this type of work would effect
your life.

Dice
Settings Skills Opportunities
roll

1 Outdoors Computer skills Can travel

2 Office or large building Analysis and Can make a lot of

mathematics money

3 Travelling around People skills Can meet a wide

range of people

4 Lots of people around Leadership Can help a lot of

people

5 Lots of machinery Physical strength Highly regarded by

society

6 Visiting a variety of Drama and acting Can solve difficult

places skills problems

My results
Setting
Skills
Opportunities

Possible occupations Lifestyle

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Careers expos/markets

Student Expo preparation

Questions Career 1 Career 2
about the
career _________________ __________________
What subjects do I
need to study at
school?

What qualifications
are required?

What is the best thing

about this job?

What is the worst

thing about this job?

What is the average

starting salary for this
job?

What special skills

and abilities are
needed?

Is there opportunity
for promotion?

What related jobs are

there in this area?

My questions:
1

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Careers expos/markets

Expo to dos
What to do at the Careers expo or market
Maps of the expo or market and information brochures are usually provided.
These give details of employers and organisations who are represented, and their
location and/or booth number. Use this information to answer the following.

The organisations I need to find are:

Career Organisation to visit Booth number

Tip 1 Collect business cards from the people you talk to so you can contact them
later if you need to.

Tip 2 Only collect brochures that will have information that you may need later.
Too many brochures can be confusing.

Ask the questions you have about the careers you are interested in.
• What subjects do I need to study at school?
• What qualifications are required?
• What is the best thing about this job?
• What is the worst thing about this job?
• What is the average starting salary for this job?
• What special skills and abilities are needed?
• Is there opportunity for promotion?
• What related jobs are there in this area?

My questions:
1

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Careers expos/markets

Expo follow up
The person/people that helped me the most at the Expo was/were:

My career choices have been confirmed by the people I spoke to. YES or NO
I have changed my mind about my career choice because:

New jobs I found out about were:

Most employers expect school leavers to have:

The best things about the jobs I investigated were:

The worst things about the jobs I investigated were:

I got the information I needed about the careers I am interested in. YES or NO
(If NO) I need to find out about:

Future Careers Expos should include more careers and training information about:

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Careers expos/markets

Tips for accompanying teachers

Those teachers who take groups of student to careers
markets or Expos can help students to gain maximum
benefits from their attendance by:

• assisting students to develop a list of exhibitors they

think they should visit to gain information about the
careers they want to research;

• assisting students to ‘interpret’ the map and decide

which employers or organisations can provide the
information they require; and

• watching for students who lack the confidence to

approach adults and ask questions and help them
where necessary.

Some students may be too attached to their peer group

to separate and get their own individual information.
Approaching groups and checking that each person is
finding what he/she needs is often useful.

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Paid work activities

Paid work survey

Answer the following questions in relation to your paid part-time or casual work.
If you are not in paid work answer these questions about a job you know about.

Work tasks
What is the range of tasks you do at work?
What are the specialised tasks in this workplace? Who does them? And how are they
rewarded?
Which tasks are required to be performed routinely? Who performs these tasks and why?
Which tasks are performed less frequently than others? Who performs these tasks and
why?
What tasks at your work are easy to learn?
What tasks did you need help to learn and who helped you learn them?
Which activities do you start and complete on you own in your workplace?
Which activities are started, monitored and supervised by others?
What tasks at your work are difficult to learn and do? Who does these difficult tasks?

Responsibilities at work
What responsibilities does your work entail?
Do you supervise other people at work?
At what times is this work busiest? Is everyone in the workplace busy at the same time?
How do people at your work manage during these busy times?
What kinds of interactions with other people are required in your work?

Conditions of work
On what basis are you employed? (e.g. part-time, casual, piecework)
What are the consequences of being a part-time or casual worker in the workplace?
How does this differ from those who are full-time employees?
What responsibilities does your employer have for you?

Work values
What are the key values at your work? (e.g. quick service, friendliness to customers,
selling as much as possible)
Do any of these values conflict with your personal values?
Are you able to engage in new and interesting tasks, if you want to?
How are opportunities to participate in different and new tasks distributed at work?
To what degree is your work similar or different to what others do?
What are the particular benefits and/or shortcomings associated with some activities?

Work tools
What workplace tools you are required to use (e.g. computers, machinery etc)?

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Paid work activities

Paid work review

As a group, answer the following questions drawing on the answers you gave for the
previous page.
1. What work activities and interactions are common to the experiences of paid work?

2. What is different among these experiences?

3. What work is well rewarded?

4. What work is poorly rewarded?

5. What kinds of work give people lots of freedom?

6. What kinds of work seem restrictive (i.e. don’t grant workers much freedom?)

7. What kinds of work offer opportunities for promotion or advancement?

8. What kinds of work offer interesting work tasks?

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Paid work activities

Paid work experiences summary

1. How can your paid part-time or casual work help you think about the kind of work you
want to do beyond school? What sort of work is it?

2. What kinds of work (part-time or otherwise) would you recommend to other students?

3. What preparation and personal qualities is required for that kind of work?

4. What kinds of work would you definitely not recommend, even to those interested in
them? Why is that?

5. What information and assistance are you able to access about work, training and
education options beyond school? How could this support be improved?

6. What would be the best way of learning what kinds of work best suit you?

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Evolving careers

How careers develop survey

Student:

School:
1. What is your present work?

2. Did you want to do this when you left school? Why?

3. Have you ever had a mentor at work? How did they help you?

4. What was your first job? (Was it part-time, full-time, casual, or volunteer work?)

5. Why did you do that work?

6. How many times have you changed work? Why did you change?

7. Describe the best work you have ever had.

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Evolving careers

8. Have you taken any courses and, if so, how were they helpful?

9. If you have been unemployed, how did you spend your time?

10. What was the best career decision you ever made? Why was it the best?

11. Are there any career decisions that you regret making? If so why?

12. How have technological changes affected your work?

14. What advice would you give to yourself if you were my age?

Thank you for helping with this survey.

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Employability skills

Employability Skills Framework

All young people need a set of skills and attributes that will prepare them for both employment and
further learning. The Employability Skills Framework includes what employers think makes a good
employee. The personal attributes and key skills are shown in the table below.

Personal attributes … that contribute to overall employability

• Loyalty • Commitment • Honesty and integrity
• Reliability • Enthusiasm • Personal presentation
• Common sense • Positive self esteem • A sense of humour
• Motivation • Adaptability
• Ability to deal with pressure • A balanced attitude to work and home life

Skill Element – (aspects of the skill that employers think is important.

Note – the mix and priority of these aspects will vary from job to job)

Communication • Listening and understanding

… that contributes to • Speaking clearly and directly
productive and • Writing to the needs of the audience
harmonious relations • Negotiating responsively
across employees • Reading independently
and customers • Empathising
• Speaking and writing in languages other than English
• Using numeracy
• Understanding the needs of internal and external customers
• Persuading effectively
• Establishing and using networks
• Being assertive
• Sharing information

Team work • Working across different ages irrespective of gender, race, religion or political
… that contributes persuasion
to productive • Working as an individual and as a member of a team
working • Knowing how to define a role as part of the team
relationships and • Applying team work to a range of situations e.g. futures planning, crisis
outcomes problem solving
• Identifying the strengths of the team members
• Coaching and mentoring skills including giving feedback

Problem solving • Developing creative, innovative solutions

… that contributes to • Developing practical solutions
productive outcomes • Showing independence and initiative in identifying problems and solving them
• Solving problems in teams
• Applying a range of strategies to problem solving
• Using mathematics including budgeting and financial management to solve
problems
• Applying problem solving strategies across a range of areas
• Testing assumptions taking the context of data and circumstances into
account.
• Resolving customer concerns in relation to complex projects issues

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Employability skills

Initiative and • Adapting to new situations

enterprise • Developing a strategic, creative, long term vision
… that contribute to • Being creative
innovative outcomes • Identifying opportunities not obvious to others
• Translating ideas into action
• Generating a range of options
• Initiating innovative solutions

Planning and • Managing time and priorities- setting time lines, co-ordinating tasks for self &
organising with others
• Being resourceful
… that contributes
to long and short • Taking initiative and making decisions
term strategic • Adapting resource allocations to cope with contingencies
planning • Establishing clear project goals and deliverables
• Allocating people and other resources to tasks
• Planning the use of resources including time management
• Participates in continuous improvement and planning processes
• Developing a vision and a proactive plan to accompany it
• Predicting - weighing up risk, evaluate alternatives and apply evaluation
criteria
• Collecting, analysing and organising information
• Understanding basic business systems and their relationships

Self • Having a personal vision and goals

management • Evaluating and monitoring own performance
… that contributes • Having knowledge and confidence in own ideas and visions
to employee • Articulating own ideas and visions
satisfaction and • Taking responsibility
growth

Learning • Managing own learning

… that contributes • Contributing to the learning community at the workplace
to ongoing • Using a range of mediums to learn - mentoring, peer support and networking,
improvement and IT, courses
expansion in • Applying learning to 'technical' issues (e.g. learning about products) and
employee and 'people' issues (e.g. interpersonal and cultural aspects of work)
company operations • Having enthusiasm for ongoing learning
and outcomes • Being willing to learn in any setting - on and off the job
• Being open to new ideas and techniques
• Being prepared to invest time and effort in learning new skills
• Acknowledging the need to learn in order to accommodate change

Technology • Having a range of basic IT skills

… that contributes • Applying IT as a management tool
to effective • Using IT to organise data
execution of tasks • Being willing to learn new IT skills
• Having the OHS knowledge to apply technology
• Having the physical capacity to apply technology e.g. manual dexterity

From Employability Skills for the Future, 2002

http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/training_skills/publications_resources/profiles/employability_skills_for_the_future.htm

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Employability skills

Employability skills summary

Employability skills
Employability skills are the "key skills and personal attributes you need to enter, operate
and thrive in the new world of work." These are the transferable skills that we take with us
from one work situation to another, just like a tradesperson carries their toolbox.

Key skills are:

• communication;
• team work;
• problem solving;
• initiative and enterprise;
• planning and organising;
• self-management;
• learning skills; and
• technology.

Personal attributes are:

• loyalty;
• commitment;
• honesty and integrity;
• enthusiasm;
• reliability;
• personal presentation;
• commonsense;
• positive self-esteem;
• sense of humour;
• balanced attitude to work and home life;
• ability to deal with pressure;
• motivation; and
• adaptability.

(See http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/training_skills/publications_resources/profiles/employability_skills_for_the_future.htm)

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Employability skills

Employability skills sheet

Job ______________________________________________________________

Very Not so Doesn't

Skill and elements of skill important important apply

Communication
Listening & understanding
Speaking clearly & directly
Writing to the needs of the audience
Negotiating responsively
Reading independently
Empathising
Speaking & writing in languages other than English
Using numeracy
Understanding the needs of internal & external customers
Persuading effectively
Establishing & using networks
Being assertive
Sharing information

Team work
Working across different ages, irrespective of gender, race, religion
or political persuasion
Working as an individual & as a member of a team
Knowing how to define a role as part of the team
Applying team work to a range of situations e.g. futures planning,
crisis problem solving
Identifying the strengths of the team members
Coaching & mentoring skills including giving feedback

Problem solving
Developing creative, innovative solutions
Developing practical solutions
Showing independence & initiative in identifying problems &
solving them
Solving problems in teams
Applying a range of strategies to problem solving
Using mathematics including budgeting & financial management to
solve problems
Applying problem solving strategies across a range of areas
Testing assumptions taking the context of data & circumstances
into account.
Resolving customer concerns in relation to complex projects issues

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Employability skills

Very Not so Doesn't

Skill and elements of skill important important apply

Initiative and enterprise

Adapting to new situations
Developing a strategic, creative, long term vision
Being creative
Identifying opportunities not obvious to others
Translating ideas into action
Generating a range of options
Initiating innovative solutions
Planning and organising
Managing time & priorities- setting time lines, co-ordinating tasks
for self & with others
Being resourceful
Taking initiative & making decisions
Adapting resource allocations to cope with contingencies
Establishing clear project goals & deliverables
Allocating people & other resources to tasks
Planning the use of resources including time management
Participates in continuous improvement & planning processes
Developing a vision & a proactive plan to accompany it
Predicting – weighing up risk, evaluate alternatives and
apply evaluation criteria
Collecting, analysing & organising information
Understanding basic business systems & their relationships
Self management
Having a personal vision & goals
Evaluating & monitoring own performance
Having knowledge & confidence in own ideas & visions
Articulating own ideas & visions
Taking responsibility
Learning
Managing own learning
Contributing to the learning community at the workplace
Using a range of mediums to learn – mentoring, peer support &
networking, IT, courses
Applying learning to 'technical' issues
(e.g. learning about products) and 'people' issues
(e.g. interpersonal & cultural aspects of work)
Having enthusiasm for ongoing learning
Being willing to learn in any setting - on & off the job
Being open to new ideas & techniques
Being prepared to invest time & effort in learning new skills
Acknowledging the need to learn in order to accommodate change
Technology
Having a range of basic IT skills
Applying IT as a management tool
Using IT to organise data
Being willing to learn new IT skills
Having the OHS knowledge to apply technology
Having the physical capacity to apply technology
e.g. manual dexterity

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

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Skills in demand

Skills shortages
When there aren't enough people with the specialist skills that are needed to do a particular kind of
work, the result is known as a skill in demand or skill shortage.

There are many reasons why skills can be in demand and the kind of skills in demand in can vary from
place to place.

List reasons why skills shortages can happen

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

How can skills in demand be useful for job seekers

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

How do I find out what skills are in demand?

• Look at the numbers of advertisements for a particular job in the classified section of the
newspaper
• Explore websites that provide this information
• Explore developing technologies and consider predictions of growth areas in the future

and ________________________________________________________________________________

Remember
• Just because a skill is in demand, doesn't mean you can automatically get a job in that area. You
still need the specialised skills required.
• Areas in demand now, may not be in demand in future. You need to think about whether they will
still be in demand when you finish your training.
• When exploring skills shortage information look at how old the data is that is being used to identify
the shortages.
• If you don't have the skills that are in demand, there might be an opportunity to get an entry-level
job in a skill-in-demand field. This will let you develop your skills on the job.
• Don't choose a skill in demand just because it's in demand. You need to consider jobs that
actually interest you.

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2007

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Skills in demand

Careers
Using information about job prospects and skill shortages, complete the table.

In In
Nationally demand In demand demand
Career in in near where in 5 Why?
demand Victoria I live years
(yes or no) (yes or (yes or no) (yes or
no) no)

Mechanic

Aged care
attendant

Architect

Games
developer

Truck Driver

Nurse

Carpenter

Bank teller

Mining
engineer

Child care
worker

Chef

My predictions

Name and describe a job that does not exist now, but may exist in 10 years time

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2007

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Balancing leisure with work

Leisure time
How do I spend leisure time?
1. Complete the table below to show how you spend your leisure time.

How much time per

How much does it
Leisure activity week do I spend on
cost?
this activity?

2. Divide the pie graphs into sections to show your average week showing how much
leisure time you have in a week. Remember to label each of the sections (e.g. at
school, sleep, study, sport, part-time work, leisure etc).

Weekdays Weekends

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006

 O p p o r t u n i t y a w a r e n e s s

Balancing leisure with work

Community leisure facilities

1. List leisure resources or facilities in your town or suburb.

2. Identify any social (or age) group that is over or under catered for.

3. Draw a map to show where the listed facilities are.

© Department of Education, Victoria, Australia, 2006