Category / ACTION4YOUTH

by Action4Agriculture

Celebrating 2023 World Youth Skills Day at Action4Agriculture

 

Today,  July 15 is the United Nations World Youth Skills Day – a day to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.

The 2023 theme is “Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future.”

Does this sound familiar?

For over 15 years Action4Agriculture has been equipping young people with the skills to thrive in the 21st century and we have long been known for developing the four Cs of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication. Building on our cornerstone programs of Young Farming Champions, The Archibull Prize and Kreative Koalas we were thrilled to add two new programs to the stable in 2023 in Young Environmental Champions and Action4Youth to further explore these skills.

The Young Environmental Champions invited students to research the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and choose a global problem from which to derive a local solution for their school and community.

“Over 10 weeks, these young minds dedicated themselves to creating a social impact project that will bring about positive change in their communities and contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Action4Agriculture director Lynne Strong says. “Our young people are reshaping, rewiring and reimaging the future; a future where they will be the leaders.”

Action4Youth is a purpose-driven program to support young people from all backgrounds and experiences to thrive in a career in agriculture by:

  • Increased employer engagement in work-based learning pathways.
  • Improved learning and skills development experienced by young people.
  • Increased entry-level jobs offered to young people.

“It is widely recognised that the education and training systems we have in Australia aren’t fit for purpose and Action4Agriculture we are working with a dedicated group of people to address that. We were committed to ensuring the right people were at the table as part of our Action4Youth program and we were very excited to be able to identify those people from the Illawarra and South Coast of NSW and share that information with others so they can follow in our footsteps and replicate and scale our work and value add to their outcomes,” Lynne says.

All participants in Action4Agriculture programs have access to workshops facilitated by Josh Farr from Campus Consultancy covering 21st century topics including building teams, design thinking, developing stake-holder relationships, communication and agile project management.

“The benefits of participating in an Action4Agriculture initiative is the authenticity of learning and the development of real world skills. It enables young people to engage in real world systems, to understand constraints and structures on real world problems and to engage with experts in the field.

From each stage of the program students are encouraged to extend themselves and develop their skills. This is supported by their belief in their solutions and their passion to make a difference.” Secondary School Principal

 

According to the United Nations “technological advancements and shifting labour market dynamics increasingly call for agile and adaptable skill sets. It is crucial that we empower young people to navigate these changes effectively. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is well placed to meet these demands by reducing access barriers to the world of work, ensuring that skills gained are relevant, recognized and certified, promoting green skills and practices, and offering skills development opportunities for youth who are not in education, employment and training.

“On World Youth Skills Day, let us unite in recognizing the potential of young people as catalysts for change and commit to providing them with the skills and opportunities they need to build a prosperous and sustainable world for all. Together, we can shape a brighter future where no young person is left behind.”

This is an ethos enshrined in Action4Agriculture and we are proud to promote World Youth Skills Day and our role within the movement.

Image source 

#action4Agriculture

#careerswithpurpose

#creatingabetterworldtogether

by Action4Agriculture

🌏🤝 Innovative Multistakeholder projects lifting collaboration rates 💡🤔

Australia has one of the lowest collaboration rates in the OECD

““Everyone I talk to believes that the problem is academics … their incentives are very much associated with publish or perish.” Malcolm Turnbull

Whilst the blame game is often counterproductive, it is important we address the ramifications for research in agriculture which is too often only found behind paywalls. When the majority of this research is funded by the taxpayer it is important to find ways to make it available to all organisations doing applied research.

With support from funding from the National Careers Institute Action4Agriculture is on a journey to encourage a communities of practice model

  • A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals.
  • Communities of practice often focus on sharing best practices and creating new knowledge to advance a domain of professional practice. Interaction on an ongoing basis is an important part of this.
  • Many communities of practice rely on face-to-face meetings as well as web-based collaborative environments to communicate, connect and conduct community activities. Source 

We are very excited to share with you our E-Book to support others to build successful multistakeholder partnerships

You can download it HERE 

 

#action4agriculture #careerswithpurpose #careerseducation #CollaborationRates #AustraliaResearch #OECD #AcademicIncentives #PublishOrPerish #ResearchInAgriculture #OpenAccess #TaxpayerFundedResearch #NationalCareersInstitute #CommunityOfPractice #KnowledgeSharing #BestPractices #MultistakeholderPartnerships #EBook #Action4Agriculture

by Action4Agriculture

Identifying the solutions – AUSTRALIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY WORK-BASED LEARNING

As the Action4Agriculture team puts the finishing touches on reporting what we learnt from the delivery of our project “ACTION4YOUTH – Explore-Connect-Support”  funded by the National Careers Institute we are collating the information and sharing it far and wide to encourage others to share their learnings.

One of the things we learnt was Australian students DO NOT have universal access to high quality work based learning.

To find the solutions to this barrier we went on a journey interviewing specialists in their field to find out what success would like for schools, students, school staff and employers.

Action4Agriculture is proud to be a solutions focused organisation sharing what we learn

 

#careerswithpurpose #careereducation

by Action4Agriculture

Why a whole of school approach is important for career education

A National Careers Institute Grant Case-study – why a whole of school approach is important for career education – BECOME EDUCATION

 

In 2023 Action4Agriculture launched a new program to assist disadvantaged youth into agricultural careers. Funded by the National Careers Institute the program, called Action4Youth, provides dedicated agricultural careers education by supporting teachers to create relatable content to ensure students see the link between their classes and the outside world, and therefore desire to attend school and learn.

Action4Youth incorporates three phases: EXPLORE-CONNECT-SUPPORT and in the EXPLORE phase students and teachers have access to the BECOME program including the web app and curriculum-aligned teaching resources, which allows students to visualise, design and examine pathways to possible careers.

Liv Pennie is the CEO and co-founder of BECOME and she firmly believes in the importance of quality career education for young people.

Source of photo here 

“The gap between evidence and practice in what works for young people is more chasm than gap. The traditional experience of ‘careers’ in schools hasn’t been great; as a field it’s suffered from a lack of imagination and innovation and as a result it’s often not a strategic priority in schools that have many competing priorities and pressures,” Liv says.

In order to address this problem Liv and her team created the BECOME program with a vision that doing careers education well is a vessel for good wellbeing outcomes.

“What’s often not understood is that this work, done properly, is powerful for shifting the things that are really important in schools – engagement and wellbeing, as well as preparing students with the skills to explore, design and navigate their future lives and careers in a rapidly changing world. By having the chance to explore broadly and think deeply about your future, coming up with possibilities that excite you and learning how to navigate towards that, students build awareness, aspiration and agency over their lives.”

Liv Pennie delivering Become Education PL at Bomaderry High School

To achieve optimum effectiveness careers education should begin early, ideally from upper primary years, and continue across the whole of school in secondary years. Early exposure to possible careers allows young people to pivot and tweak their ideas and aspirations, to explore broadly and to think deeply. It gives young people the grace of time rather than the pressure of decisions that may occur in the final years of school. “It is much better to practice and test ideas in a low stakes environment than once they’ve left school and invested time and money in an untested pathway only to discover it’s not quite right and feel like a failure,” Liv says.

The Become program is therefore purpose built for Years 5 to 12 and, fusing technology with research, it engages students and opens their minds to the broader possibilities of career areas rather than narrowing them down to a decision. It encourages and equips not only careers advisors but all teachers and parents to play a valuable role in student futures.

As Action4Youth focusses on youth who may not have the opportunities and advantages of others Liv’s vision for BECOME aligns perfectly.

“I want all young people to have the chance to define success for themselves and the opportunity to design their future rather than have it defined for them by who they are and where they are. Building awareness, aspiration and agency in young people can be a great leveller, addressing major inequality challenges.”

Another opportunity for young people to imagine their potential careers is to introduce them to young people, not dissimilar to themselves, working in different fields. In addressing the gaps between awareness and opportunity in the field of agriculture, initiatives like Young Farming Champions (YFC) can play this role. YFC is a network of early-career professionals working in agriculture that can provide inspiration and mentorship to both primary and secondary students. Liv believes role models such as YFC Danielle Fordham are powerful influencers helping young people to broaden their ideas of what’s possible for them.

Danielle Fordham – centre from row – with students and teachers at Lake Illawarra High School 

“Danielle grew up in western Sydney with no family history in agriculture so a career in the field wasn’t in her natural line of sight for people from her area or background. We know from our data that in a single school, on average, 48% of students aspire to the most common five careers for that school – ‘people like us have jobs like this’. We want to develop students’ awareness, aspiration and agency so they can have a future designed by them not defined for them. Danielle is a great example of someone who has changed lanes,” Liv says.

In 2023 Action4Youth and BECOME have created 19 curriculum-aligned lesson plans to support teachers and career practitioners to explore jobs in agriculture, identified 130 unique jobs in the dairy, wool and fishing industries and connected with 400 students in 22 schools. Taking a whole of school approach we’re helping disadvantaged young people to actively explore the whole world of work and in particular challenge the preconceptions they may have had about how varied and rewarding careers in agriculture could be.

#careers #careersinagriculture #careerswithpurpose

by Action4Agriculture

Inspiring hope in young people is an imperative for our times

With statistics like this

More than 60 per cent of NSW public high school students missed at least four weeks of class in 2022, the worst attendance level on record. Source

Inspiring hope in young people has become an imperative for our time and is the foundation of the Action4Youth model designed by Professor Felicity Blackstock in partnership with Action4Agriculture

A crucial step was identifying the specialists in their fields. We are grateful for the introduction to Become Education who we are working directly with. Organisations like StudyWorkGrow and The Careers Department complement the work of Become

The next crucial step was identifying the key pain points. With the support of National Youth Employment Body we were able to identify

Building Employer Capability and Young People’s Confidence as priorities.

This is where the CONNECT and SUPPORT phases of the Action4Youth model play a key role

 

To ensure that everyone feels confident to have the crucial conversations for success, Action4Youth is offering workshops for both young people and their potential employers

For Employers

For young people ( potential employees )

We look forward to sharing with you the impact of these workshops which will be facilitated by Campus Consultancy 

#action4youth #action4Agriculture #creatingabetterworldtogether #inspiringhope

 

by Action4Agriculture

ACTION4YOUTH – Taking a whole of school approach to support disadvantaged youth into careers in agriculture

 

The Illawarra and Shoalhaven have some of the highest youth unemployment numbers in New South Wales with an average unemployment rate of 11.7% – and as high as 17.6% – in some parts of the regions. Action4Agriculture is on a mission to address these frightening statistics and support our disadvantaged youth into agricultural careers. They will do this through a new program called ACTION4YOUTH and a grant received from the National Careers Institute.

 

In the first school term of 2023 ACTION4YOUTH’s EXPLORE-CONNECT-SUPPORT program will roll out in ten schools across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven that have identified a percentage of disadvantaged youth in their school population.

In addition, ACTION4YOUTH will be working with the youth-employment-focused  Shoalhaven Community Investment Committee, led by Mission Australia and supported by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, to reach NEET (not in education, employment or training) youth and give them the same opportunities as those in mainstream education.

 

The EXPLORE phase of the program will introduce young people to the wool, dairy and fishing industries, connect them to Young Farming Champions (early-career professionals working in the agriculture sector), give them access to the Become Education app and facilitate personalised sessions with careers counsellors.

 

Those showing an interest in working on-farm/on-boat will progress to the CONNECT phase, which will connect them with businesses from wool, dairy and fishing for structured discussions on careers and career pathways in these industries.

 

The final phase – SUPPORT – will provide training and work experience over a six month period and give youth access to the Dale Carnegie Next Generation course, designed specifically to build and strengthen soft and life skills in order to give them the highest chance of career success.

 

Federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips MP believes the ACTION4YOUTH program has the potential to make a real difference in the local community

“I am thrilled to support the ACTION4YOUTH program, which will provide young people in our community with valuable opportunities to explore the dairy, fishing and wool industries, connect with early-career professionals, and receive personalised career guidance. With the support of Become Education and key industry partners, I have no doubt that this program will make a real difference in the lives of our youth and help them achieve their full potential in dynamic and diverse careers right here on the NSW South Coast.” Federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips MP

L-R Liv Pennie (CEO of Become Education ) Bronwyn Hilaire Bomaderry High School, Fiona Phillips MP, Holly Pastor Bomaderry High School, Danii Fordham Tocal College Alumni Officer

 

ACTION4YOUTH has partnered with Become Education to deliver 21st century careers advise and pathway creation, and to fill the void where schools do not have careers advisors.

“Research shows that young people have a narrow idea of the world of work. They can hold simplistic or outdated ideas of careers. Agriculture is a prime example of a dynamic, changing and diverse field that is open to students of all backgrounds and interests. Agriculture can offer engaging careers for those with specialty knowledge from engineering to agribusiness, plant and animal systems, logistics, ecology, production processes and technology – to name only a few,” Liv Pennie, CEO and Founder of Become Education says.

Even before its commencement ACTION4YOUTH has gained the attention of international stakeholders, including Chris Webb, careers consultant for England’s University of Huddersfield and host of the #WeAreCareers Show, who writes:

“For me, this is a brilliant way to empower young people with career management skills and support them and their parents/carers to navigate an increasingly chaotic world, as well as mitigate the sense of ‘information overload’ that we so often hear as careers professionals.”

 

Action4Youth’s key business connections are Australian Wool Innovation, Dairy Australia and Austral Fisheries.

 

by Action4Agriculture

From The Archibull Prize to Young Farming Champion – how Action4Agriculture works for Danielle Fordham

Traditionally agriculture has not conducted longitudinal studies following the journey of participants in its agricultural awareness programs. We look forward to that changing.

Today’s story is very rewarding for our organisation. Our journalist the wonderful Mandy McKeesick interviewed Danielle Fordham who we first met over 12 years ago when she participated in The Archibull Prize during secondary school

 

Young Farming Champion Danielle Fordham (centre front row ) inspiring the next generation of agriculturalists to follow in her footsteps 

Background

Action4Agriculture offers a holistic suite of programs designed to inspire and empower agricultural advocates and leaders. We realise this is not a sprint but a marathon that requires long-term commitment from ourselves, our partners and, most of all, the young people we want to inspire and cultivate.

Danielle Fordham is the perfect example of how the programs and training come together. She was first exposed to Action4Agiculture through The Archibull Prize at Caroline Chisholm College and in 2022 became a Young Farming Champion sponsored by Hunter Local Land Services. As our new program, Action4Youth, readies for roll-out in 2023, Danielle has already been involved – sharing her agricultural journey with students as part of a pilot program at Lake Illawarra High School.

This is Danielle’s Action4Agriculture story ……

Danielle, you were part of the team from Caroline Chisholm College that was named Grand Champion Archibull in 2011 with the wonderful Rubick’s Cube inspired creation “Moobix Cube”. Can you tell us about your Archibull experience?

I was part of The Archibull Prize in 2011 and 2012 and the experience was incredible. It connected my learnings in the classroom to the real world. As a cohort, my friends and I loved participating, bonding and getting to meet like-minded people our own age who shared the same passions.

I enjoyed researching issues such as how to feed a growing population, learning more about cow by-products (did you know cow parts are used in cosmetics and medicine?) and showcasing the trophy-worthy dairy and red-meat industries. It was great to come up with creative ideas to communicate these issues and showcase agriculture in a new light to the wider public.

The experience opened my eyes to the endless opportunities in agriculture and it cemented my interest and career ambitions in the agricultural field. Most importantly The Archibull Prize connected me with the brilliant organisation that is Action4Agriculture (previously Art4Agriculture) and the opportunities it has provided me.

 

Since high school you’ve become a poster girl for the diversity of Australian agriculture, undertaking a business traineeship, attending Tocal Agricultural College (Double Dux!!), working in agribusiness, studying an environmental university degree and working as the Alumni Officer at Tocal. How did it feel to add Young Farming Champion (YFC) to your resume in 2022?

 

It was deeply empowering to be selected as a Young Farming Champion. I was struggling to find my connection back to the agricultural industry as I had moved into the environmental science sector and the YFC program provided the best opportunity to combine the two.

The experiences and workshops provided by Action4Agriculutre as a YFC have strengthened my confidence and ability to a stand as a clear, trusted voice in agriculture. I want to make a positive impact on agriculture and support the community, and YFC has enabled me to do this and more. YFC has broadened my horizons and I feel I can go further with my career than I ever imagined.

 

And, specifically, what skills has the YFC program given you?

The YFC program has taught me essential skills such as how to be an effective communicator, how to be an inspirational speaker and presenter and how to efficiently manage my time. The program has given me a network of peers and industry and community contacts.

Through YFC I have converted my passion for agriculture into a vehicle to empower other young people, such as my students at Tocal Agricultural College.

 

In 2023 we are launching Action4Youth, which aims to introduce disadvantaged young people to career pathways in agriculture. You participated in a pilot program at Lake Illawarra High School last year. What was that like?

It felt incredibly rewarding to be able to connect with students who were like me: interested in agriculture but who didn’t grow up on a farm or have the money to study agriculture straight out of school.

I was able to share my story and empower the students to think outside the square. I could assure them there are plenty of opportunities out there after school and, as a living example, that you are not limited by your HSC or ATAR results. If you are passionate about a career or lifestyle, there is nothing stopping you. You have just got to keep looking for your next step and embrace the skills and lessons you learn along the way.

Additionally, I was equally inspired by the Lake Illawarra students and their tenacity and enthusiasm. It was great to learn from each other and feel connected to the future of agriculture and our communities.

Young Farming Champions Lachie White and Danii Fordham were a big hit with students and teachers at Lake Illawarra High School  

Overall, how do you feel the Action4Agriculture programs align with your aspirations for your own career?

The Action4Agriculture programs align with my aspirations of being a clear, trusted and influential leader in the sustainable agriculture field in two particular arenas: marrying agriculture and science, and promoting women.

The environmental world is in turmoil with global issues of climate change, ocean acidification, food and resource insecurity, habitat destruction, and contamination. These issues threaten all our livelihoods and existence; and this make creating a future we all want to be part of a shared responsibility.  Agriculture is a key industry in combating and controlling these issues with opportunities in technological innovation, sustainable and regenerative practices, environment restoration, carbon capture and rehabilitation integration. The opportunities for agriculture to be part of the solution are endless.

To create these solutions it is vital to strengthen the connection and relationship between agriculture and science and I plan to do this by promoting sustainable agriculture.

Championing women in agriculture and science is also a passion of mine and in 2022 I organised an event to recognise 50 years of female students at Tocal College. By telling my own story and connecting with like-minded women we can overcome social challenges and promote equality.

Action4Agriculture’s ethos and opportunities to connect directly with the next generation and particularly the training and networking received as a Young Farming Champion enables me to effectively communicate these challenges and find the solutions we all need.

 

 

by Action4Agriculture

Action4Youth supporting disengaged young people to explore, connect and thrive in careers in agriculture

A new program to be delivered by Action4Agriculture (A4A) in 2023 will reimagine the way young people see and access career pathways in agriculture. Supported by the National Careers Institute, ACTION4YOUTH, will engage with youth aged 15-24 years, either identified as disengaged, Indigenous or migrant, to explore a career in agriculture and/or fisheries, connect them to business and industry and, give them opportunities to undertake work experience in agriculture and fisheries.

The project will deliver across three phases:

  • EXPLORE: A series of careers awareness activities, with supported self-reflection on motivators, barriers, aptitude and interest across three key commodities: dairy, wool and fishing.
  • CONNECT: Participants connect with businesses and Young Farming Champions, to discuss career opportunities and learn what it is to be part of the agricultural/fisheries workforce.
  • SUPPORT: Training for job and life skills, and personal growth, will support youth to engage with a farm business/fishing enterprise. Students who complete the program will have the opportunity to  undertake work experience to support them to gain practical and life skills for commencing a career in agriculture/fisheries.The initial phase of the project, EXPLORE, will connect young people, including from BackTrack, with career exploration professionals to increase awareness of career pathways within dairy, wool and fisheries. Using a combination of video, apps, workshops, personalised counselling sessions and direct connection to individuals working in the sector, young people will explore their own motivations and interests and look across all aspects of agriculture/fisheries production, including jobs of today and the future.

Even before its official launch ACTION4YOUTH has been gaining the attention of international stakeholders, including from Chris Webb, careers consultant for England’s University of Huddersfield and host of the #WeAreCareers Show, who writes:

“For me, this is a brilliant way to empower young people with career management skills and support them and their parents/carers to navigate an increasingly chaotic world, as well as mitigate the sense of ‘information overload’ that we so often hear as careers professionals.”

ACTION4YOUTH will partner with BECOME Education to deliver 21st century careers advise and pathway creation, and to fill the void where schools do not have careers advisors.

“Research shows that young people have a narrow idea of the world of work. They can hold simplistic or outdated ideas of careers. Agriculture is a prime example of a dynamic, changing and diverse field that is open to students of all backgrounds and interests. Agriculture can offer engaging careers for those with specialty knowledge from engineering to agribusiness, plant and animal systems, logistics, ecology, production processes and technology – to name only a few,” Liv Pennie, CEO and Founder of BECOME Education says.

 

ACTION4YOUTH’S key business connections and trusted industry partners are Australian Wool Innovation, Dairy Australia and Austral Fisheries.

 

Expressions of interest are now open here  for schools with professional development for teachers to be available in November and December prior to commencement of the program in 2023.

 

 

For more information watch this video from Action4Agriculture director Lynne Strong or contact Lynne directly at lynnestrong@action4ag.com.au

 

by Action4Agriculture

Learning to have those challenging conversations with Annie Simpson

Annie Simpson – Co-founder Modern People 

As part of our NCI funding ACTION4YOUTH provides 21st century skills training to our Young Farming Champion (YFC) mentors, careers advisors, students (the next generation employees) and our prospective employers.

Following her successful workshop on Values at Work, Annie Simpson has delivered another masterclass teaching our ACTION4YOUTH stakeholders how to have challenging conversations in the workplace.

“Challenging conversations are a part of business, and it is in the best interest of employees to empower their people with impactful tools and frameworks to promote more positive outcomes,” Annie says.

$4.45 billion is the cost of recruiting for the people who resign every year because of challenging conversations going wrong so this workshop was an important step in rectifying this problem.

The workshop began by introducing the concept of mattering, which is the belief that we are all a significant part of the world around us and that we are noticed, affirmed and needed right now.

It then taught participants to recognise what form a challenging conversation could take  before giving tools and frameworks to best address these issues.

“Challenging conversations come in many shapes and forms, including giving and receiving feedback, discussing ‘failures’, sharing personal challenges, and calling out the elephant in the room,” Annie says.

The difference between ego-based (defensive, armoured, fear-based, fixed, transactional) and heart-based (authentic, open, others focused, situational and adaptive, personal/human) conversations was also explored, as was using emotionally intelligent practices to realise objectives while being considerate of the person at the other end of the conversation.

“Recognising your own bias or ‘monkey brain’ helps you approach the situation with emotional intelligence and great self-awareness, but when we cannot control the behaviours and attitudes of others, how can we set ourselves up for success during these often uncomfortable moments?” Annie asked the participants before giving them time to reflect on or prepare for their own challenging conversations.

The Challenging Conversations workshop proved popular with YFC

“Annie Simpson’s workshop on Challenging Conversations was an excellent opportunity to reflect on how we communicate and engage with others in our professional and personal lives. Annie asked us to consider times when we have had to express difficult or sometimes conflicting emotions, the ways we succeeded, and the places we could improve. In particular, I found the conversation on the difference between ego and heart a welcome reminder to reflect on the intentions behind our actions and how we ensure they lead us towards positive behaviours. I was grateful to participate in the workshop breakout sessions with Dylan Male, a fellow YFC peer and PhD candidate. I enjoyed reflecting on times in my PhD candidature journey when I had to have challenging conversations and was inspired by Dylan’s positivity and thoughtfulness in his own reflections.” says Francesca Earp

by Action4Agriculture

Who can you BECOME – Why some of the coolest jobs exist near the wickedest problems.

Using an Explore-Connect-Support model Action4Youth has a vision to help young people thrive in a career in agriculture. This includes working with primary and secondary schools to increase awareness of the diversity of agricultural careers and showcase various pathways that can create and shape a dream working life.

Become Education CEO and co-founder Liv Pennie Picture Credit Troy Snook

As part of the Explore phase, students and teachers have access to BECOME. This teacher-led program encourages students from upper primary onwards to explore, design and navigate their future, while building independence and agency over that future.

Beginning in primary school is critical. Research by the OECD, Monash University and BECOME Education each independently found that about half of all students intend to work on just ten career areas out of the many thousands of careers available. Even more alarmingly, research from Monash University showed that 55% of the female students they focused on, chose careers to please someone else, not their own strengths and interests.

About the BECOME program:

  • Purpose built for years 5 – 12, it fuses technology with research
  • Ready-to-go lessons inspire confidence and help students develop the skills to shape their own future
  • Flexible Year or Stage scope and sequence plans integrate and align with Learning Areas across the Australian Curriculum, General Capabilities and the Australian Blueprint for Career Development (ABCD) skills framework
  • The dynamic student web app actively engages students and opens their minds to the broader possibilities of career areas, rather than narrowing them down to a decision
  • Incorporates facilitated, professional development for educators, including non-careers specialist teachers
  • Insights dashboard enables a personalised and proactive approach to student career conversations and gives teachers real insight into students’ emerging aspirations.

Holly Paster is the Careers and Transition Adviser at Bomaderry High School who have chosen the BECOME program, including the app and lessons. We spoke to Holly about her experience:

“The app was appealing to us for a number of reasons. Firstly, the platform works well with our iPad-centred school – our students use them in class and at home. Secondly the program is evidence-based, which we, as a school collective, value. Thirdly, we can embed activities that support the transition to high school, which allows us to increase our engagement in career planning and career development from an early age, and then maintain that consistency throughout the high school years. And fourthly, it provides professional development and trains staff how to use it effectively in their classes.”

BECOME allows students to design careers from the inside out and to practice 21st century skills through the implementation of experiments to explore, test and refine their career aspirations. As research from the Institute for the Future (IFTF) shows, 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet. In the changing world of work, it’s much more effective to have students create their own unique career direction for the future rather than picking a job. As they engage with the program and learn more about themselves, what motivates and inspires them, BECOME data shows that 50% of students change their career aspirations, as they refine and become more educated about the type of work, workplaces and careers that best suit what they now know about themselves.

Having parents involved in careers education is another feature of BECOME that excites Holly. She says,

“I think parents want to support their children and they’re looking for information to do that, which is really quite difficult because there’s just so much out there. It’s the opposite of how it used to be, where they couldn’t get the information; now there’s just so much that it’s overwhelming. Having one central area [such as BECOME] where they can access quality advice and evidence-based careers education, is what we think is critical. Opening both student and parent eyes to different career pathways is a goal of ours.”

Using Awareness (of your unique self and of the world of work), Aspiration (articulating directions and researching pathways) and Agency (taking charge of their own lives) the BECOME program, and Action4Youth will help students answer questions beyond the scope of traditional careers education. For example:

  • How agriculture provides us with clues about the future of work and the world’s “To Do List”.
  • Why some of the coolest jobs exist near the wickedest problems.
  • The pressure to ‘follow your passion’, and why that can be complicated.
  • Purpose and fulfilment – why does it matter?
  • Who defines success in your community? What is your own personal definition of success?

Creating awareness, aspiration and agency around agricultural careers is a powerful and affirming way to help our young people thrive.

Further food for thought

Why talking to your kids about their futures should start earlier than you think

Young Women Choosing Careers – Who decides