A range of external providers were on hand this afternoon to help students with their next step after Bendigo Senior Secondary College.
Students with a disability or medical condition, along with their families, were invited to attend a careers expo and afternoon tea where they heard from guest speakers and received lots of useful information about future pathways.
BSSC’s Careers and Pathways Advisor, Trish White, welcomed everyone to the event and highlighted the importance of making the most of the connections BSSC has with the wonderful organisations in our community.
“With the right people in your corner who provide encouragement and support, anything is possible,” says Trish.
Trish introduced Adrianna from AXIS Employment, who gave a brief overview of their DES Program and TTW Program.
The group then heard from Windarring’s Paul Weeks, who gave an overview of their NDIS Program and also shared the stage with Brad, the father of BSSC Alumnus, Jacob, who spoke about his son’s journey after leaving BSSC.
Brad told the audience how Paul and the Windarring team helped their family acquire disability support funding, organise work experience for Jacob, and connect him with key local organisations.
“They helped us alleviate the fear of, ‘what’s next?’,” says Brad. “Jacob’s come such a long way thanks to Windarring and BSSC.”
Scott McLarty from Connecting Futures gave an overview of their NDIS Program and two past students, Henry and David, spoke about their journey post BSSC.
Henry was helped with job interview preparation, and, through persistence, eventually landed his dream job with Vline. David has been working with Connecting Futures to build his administrative skills and also secure a volunteer position with a local organisation.
When asked what advice the pair would give their past selves, their answers were similar:
“Don’t give up. Voice your opinion: your opinion matters,” says David.
Henry echoed David’s sentiments.
“Don’t give up, don’t take no for an answer and be open to what you need to so in order to succeed,” said Henry—who is living proof that resilience and persistence can help you see your dreams become a reality, having recently worked hard to purchase his own house.
“There’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen for you guys, too.”
After the formalities, families had the opportunity to talk to providers whilst enjoying some afternoon tea; gathering information that will help them make a decision on which service is the best for them.
We thank the following providers for attending the event today:
AXIS Employment
WISE Employment
Connecting Futures Australia
Windarring
Personnel Group
Distinctive Options
Bendigo TAFE
If any BSSC students need assistance with planning out their post-BSSC journey, they can chat to our friendly Careers and Pathways team to make an appointment.
