Blog
What if my child says he wants to drop out in year 12?
It’s worrying if your child says that he or she wants to drop out of school. Even more concerning is if your child said this to you during year 12. Many parents hope that their child will continue in compulsory education until the end of year 12, indeed this is strongly encouraged in Australia. Retention […]
Careers Counsellor Services
Parents of year 12 students seeking careers counsellor services can obtain the following careers services from me at Karen Your Career Coach. My professional careers counselling services are affordable, progressive and confidential. Careers counselling is highly skilled work carried out by professional counsellors, qualified to post-graduate level in Career Development. Counselling incorporates psychological assessment and […]
Stress and Anxiety in Year 12
In my career coaching practice I see many year 12 students who are experiencing stress and anxiety. This is not a reflection upon 2017 clients – stress and anxiety has been a common theme for clients of all ages throughout my years as a private career coach. What is concerning for me as a career […]
What are STEM subjects and Soft Skills?
What are STEM subjects and Soft skills? These are the buzz words being used in careers. Everyone is talking about STEM subjects and soft skills, etc – the trouble is, do we know what these are and why they are related? Also, do we know how to communicate them to a prospective employer, or recruiter? […]
Unemployment is humiliating. Parents fear their children missing out on jobs.
Unemployment and underemployment is humiliating in a consumer society. These were the wise words of Zigmunt Bauman. Bauman wrote of our fear of losing a step on the ladder to middle-class, and it is fair to say that many parents are in real fear for their children because of Foundation for Young Australians statistics on […]
Year 12 students apply through VTAC for tertiary courses
Year 12 students in Victoria will soon be able to apply through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) for tertiary places in up to 8 courses. It is a period when they are also really busy completing SACs and so semester 2 in year 12 can be really busy and maybe a little stressful for […]
Courses, Open Days, and How to enrol
In year 12 our children are expected to make decisions about courses, to attend Open Days and know how to enrol, usually through VTAC, in higher education courses. That’s a lot to do when they’re busy studying for SACs, doing their VCEs, IB, VET or VCAL subjects. Parents, did you know how to do all […]
Helping with course preference change.
It’s been a busy few weeks helping with course preference change. So many parents, or students themselves, have contacted me this year, when their VCE results were released, for a range of reasons, and driven by anxiety and the urgency of the process. Many were looking for help because they did so well. Better than […]
Melbourne VCE and Careers Expo
I spent yesterday at the Melbourne VCE and Careers Expo. Wow, it was busy, and jam packed with bus loads of year 10s from all over Victoria. I was happy to see that the event had drawn so many students. By the way, VCE stands for Victorian Certificate of Education. There exams are taken […]