A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you. Compiled by the i-step program and NORTH Link. i-step Program: This project is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Local Employment Co-ordinator Flexible Funding Pool.
To obtain copies of this resource please visit: www.melbournesnorth.com.au/i-step You can contact NORTH Link on (03) 9479 3339 Produced by Skye d Avoine for the i-step program NORTH Link 2013 i-step Program: This project is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Local Employment Co-ordinator Flexible Funding Pool. Please acknowledge NORTH Link if you reproduce any part of this toolkit for your work. PAGE 2 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
Who can use this toolkit? Have you ever thought about getting into a new type of job, but had questions like: What kind of tasks would I be doing? What kind of wage and number of working hours can I expect? What level of education do I need? This toolkit is for any job-seeker who wants to be able to realistically assess the occupation/s you are considering, and use the power of the knowledge you gain to take the next informed step. The Knowledge is Power toolkit will help you answer the questions listed above and many more to give you a full, realistic picture of what your new occupation might look like. It will help you to compare occupations, as well as assess your readiness to get into your new career. How this toolkit works Sometimes the easiest way to learn to do something is to just work through it. This toolkit guides you through the process of comparing a job role with your ideas of aspects of the occupation such as wages, growth, education level required etc. Using one occupation you re considering as an example, work through this tool kit to learn how it works, then compare as many roles as you like by photocopying the template on page 15 and 16. The aim of this toolkit is to give you the tools to realistically compare different occupations. You may find that certain aspects of a job role may not be exactly what you had in mind. That s ok, you can then decide whether your passion for the job outweighs the challenges, or if you should consider other jobs. If you find that the reality is almost exactly what you thought it was, this gives you the confidence to go ahead and pursue this occupation, or undertake education to help you prepare for the job role. What if I don t know what type of roles I m interested in? This toolkit is designed for job seekers who are in the process of narrowing down or confirming their preferred job role/s. If you are not up to this point yet check out some of the career quizzes available first (see links below) and see what appeals to your skills, abilities and interests. Once you have one or a few occupations in mind come back to this toolkit to take a realistic look at what you d like to get into. http://joboutlook.gov.au/pages/careerquiz.aspx www.myfuture.edu.au www.skillsroad.com.au/career-choice/career-quiz www.quizrocket.com/career-quiz PAGE 3
STEPS TO COMPLETE TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE KNOWLEDGE IS POWER TOOLKIT PART 01 PAGES 5-16 It is best not to skip through the Your Thoughts page and go straight to the occupation details. Use this resource to fully explore your current ideas of the occupation you had in mind and compare how this differs to the reality. PART 02 PAGE 17 Identify what is stopping you from getting into the type of work you want, eg: Courses, qualifications, licenses and tickets Transport Clothing Resume Interview skills PART 03 PAGES 18-21 It s great when you get to the point where you know exactly what your target occupation is and what is stopping you from getting there, but if you don t have small actions to complete everyday to get to your goal it s just a dream. That s why in the last section of the toolkit you will work out what you need to do to: Identify your next steps for getting into work Become job search ready Enrol in any courses you need to start your new occupation PAGE 4 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
PART 01 GETTING STARTED To get started think about what you know about one of the occupations you are currently considering. Consider the following questions: What tasks would I be expected to undertake? How easy is it to get into this type of job role? What are the entry points (eg: Apprenticeship, Graduate Programs)? What type of wages can I expect (and can I afford to live on it)? Is this type of occupation available in the location I am living in currently? What are the future prospects for the occupation? Will there be a growing demand for this type of job role or is it in decline? What type/ level of education do I need for this occupation? If it s a non-traditional role for my gender, how many workers of my gender are in this occupation? Is this rate growing? How many hours per week will I work? Is full-time/ part-time work easy to get? Think about your current ideas of all of these factors. If you haven t considered some of them yet take a guess of what the answers might be. Complete the table on the next page filling in your ideas of the sections on the table. Later in this toolkit you ll check out the facts and complete a new table to compare. This will either confirm that your ideas of your preferred occupation are correct or give you new information that helps you make decisions about your next step. PAGE 5
JOB ROLE/ OCCUPATION: JOB ASPECTS YOUR THOUGHTS Tasks List the tasks you d expect to undertake in this occupation Employment prospects What are the current and future prospects of getting employment in this occupation? Wages What is the average weekly wage for this occupation? How many people work in the occupation? How many females/ males if a non-traditional occupation? PAGE 6 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
PART 01 JOB ASPECTS YOUR THOUGHTS How many hours can I expect to work? Availability of full time/ part time hours Will experienced workers be leaving the industry in the next few years to make room for me? Will there be more work available? Where are the jobs? Location and industries who employ the occupation Education and skills What kind of education and skills are needed for this role? PAGE 7
The next section will take you through a case study to gain more information on the aspects of your occupation you thought about in the previous table. There is a lot of information available about occupations and the internet is a great resource. For the purpose of this toolkit we are using the Australian Government s Job Outlook website which is a great source of information: www.joboutlook.gov.au To locate the occupation you would like to look at can take some browsing. Use the Keyword Occupation Search 1 or the Alphabetical Search 2. When you ve located the closest occupation title you can find, click on the title and view the Job Titles 3 towards the bottom of the screen. Make sure one of these matches what you are looking for. You are now ready to explore the aspects of this occupation. To explore the different aspect of the occupation use the tabs 4 under the occupation title to find information on different aspects of the occupation. We will be using these tabs in the following case study to explore the available information. To get the most out of the exercise you should use the website simultaneously and work through the case study on the website along with this toolkit. The occupation we will be using for the case study is Metal Fitters and Machinists. Job titles under this occupation include Fitter and Turner and Metal Machinist (First Class). 1 2 3 4 PAGE 8 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
PART 01 OVERVIEW Tasks In the first screen you will see when you click on your occupation the main tasks are listed. Where there are multiple job titles associated with that occupation you may have to count some of the tasks out of your chosen occupation, as they may be specific to the other job titles listed. Tasks listed are a guide to the type of things you might do on a typical day in your occupation. Use these to think about whether this is what you would like to be doing everyday. Every job has enjoyable and more mundane or less exciting tasks so consider whether the majority (not all) of the tasks are ones you could handle doing daily. PROSPECTS Employment prospects This section provides you with information on whether employment of people in the occupation is expected to grow, remain the same or decline in the coming years. It also tells you about the proportion of people working full-time and part-time in the occupation, and the internet vacancy level. WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN? If the occupation size is expected to grow that means there will be more jobs available in the future. If it is expected to decline, that doesn t mean you shouldn t enter the occupation, but it pays to be aware of how much work will be available to you. Knowing how much full-time/ part-time work there is in the occupation is also important, for example, if you know you will want to work full-time but there are only 20% of people currently working in the occupation that may indicate there isn t much fulltime work available. PAGE 9
STATISTICS 1 3 5 2 4 6 7 Wages shown as Weekly Earnings (before tax) 1 This section shows the average full-time weekly wage and average wage for full-time and part-time workers in the occupation. WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN? Using this as a rough guide only you can work out if, by working in this occupation, you will be able to meet your financial obligations. How many people work in the occupation? shown as Employment Level and Recent Job Growth 2 The Employment Level chart shows you how the occupation size has changed over about 10 years. The Recent Job Growth chart shows you the five-year and two-year job growth percentage. WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN? These charts can give you an indication of how much the size of the occupation has grown in the past few years. Use this information along side the Job Prospects information to get an idea of whether there will be more or less work available in the future when you are working in the occupation. How many females/ males in the occupation? shown as employment Growth by Gender and Gender 3 The Gender chart shows how many females and males are currently included in the occupation and the Employment Growth by Gender chart shows if female and male participation in the occupation has grown or declined in recent years. WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN? If you are considering entering a non-traditional occupation for your gender this can give you an idea about the breakdown of the occupation by gender, and whether representation of your gender has increased or decreased. PAGE 10 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
PART 01 How many hours can I expect to work? shown as Weekly Hours Worked 4 The Weekly Hours Worked chart gives you an indication of the number of hours someone working full-time or part-time in the occupation might be working. WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN? This information will give you an indication of what kind of working hours you might be working if you are employed as full-time or part-time in the occupation. Will experienced workers be leaving the industry in the next few years and will there be more work available? shown as Age Profile and Sources of Vacancies 5 In the Age Profile chart you can see what percentage of each age group are currently working in the occupation. The Sources of Vacancies chart shows you what percentage of the workforce for this occupation is being replaced through recruitment, and what percentage of increase in the occupation size is expected to be due to employment growth over the coming years. WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN? These charts give you an indication of how many people might be leaving the occupation and what type of growth in new jobs may be available over the coming years. Where are jobs in this occupation? shown as Employment by Region and Main Employing Industries 6 In the Employment by Region chart you can see stateby-state what percentage of the occupation workforce is located in each Australian state and territory. The Main Employing Industries chart shows you the spread of industries that employ people in the occupation. WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN? Knowing the location of where the jobs are is obviously very important. If you see that 0.2% of the jobs in your occupation are located in your state you can assume competition for the jobs available will be strong. The spread of industries can also be an indicator of job prospects. If there is a wide spread of industries that employ people in the occupation, there may be more opportunities elsewhere if one particular industry is suffering a down-turn during your career. What education level will I need to work in this occupation shown as as Education Attainment 7 In the Education Attainment chart you can see what the highest education level workers in the occupation hold by percentages. WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN? The spread of qualification levels in an occupation will give you an idea about what sort of qualification you might need to enter the occupation and how important it may be/ may not be to have a qualification at a certain level to be able to work in the occupation. Different occupations will vary widely in this chart. For example, the Doctor occupation will have 100% of people currently working in the occupation having achieved a very high level qualification before entering the occupation whereas something like a Community Worker (found under Welfare Support Workers) has a much more varied workforce spread across all the qualification levels. Where there is a high percentage of workers who have attained Certificate III/IV as their highest level of education attained you might assume that it is due to an apprenticeship being the main entry point to the occupation. This is the case for the Metal Fitters and Machinists we are currently looking at for this case study where 73.4% of workers currently in the occupation have a Certificate III/IV as their highest qualification. PAGE 11
JOB ASPECTS YOUR THOUGHTS Tasks List the tasks you d expect to undertake in this occupation Employment prospects What are the current and future prospects of getting employment in this occupation? Wages What is the average weekly wage for this occupation? How many people work in the occupation? How many females/ males if a non-traditional occupation? PAGE 12 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
PART 01 JOB ASPECTS YOUR THOUGHTS How many hours can I expect to work? Availability of full time/ part time hours Will experienced workers be leaving the industry in the next few years to make room for me? Will there be more work available? Where are the jobs? Location and industries who employ the occupation Education and skills What kind of education and skills are needed for this role? PAGE 13
Now that you have completed the case study you can use your knowledge to find out the facts about the occupation you are currently considering. Start by finding the occupation you are considering on the Job Outlook website. This can sometimes be a bit tricky so make sure you find the page containing the job title that most closely matches what you are interested in. You may need to think about other titles/ sections the occupation may be found under or ask someone for help. Once you have located the best fit, use the table on the following pages to note the information you find. When you have finished compare the table to the one you completed earlier on page six and seven and answer the questions below. What did you find that was similar to your initial thoughts about your occupation? What did you find that was surprising or different to what you thought? What will you now do with this information? When you have completed your comparison and thought about the questions above turn to parts 2 and 3 and the Final Checklist in the back of this toolkit to figure out what you are missing to succeed in gaining employment in this occupation. PAGE 14 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
PART 01 Now complete the table for the occupation you explored initially by researching the answers on Job Outlook. Compare the two tables, did you learn new things about the occupation or were you able to confirm your thoughts about it? Job role/ occupation: JOB ASPECTS YOUR FINDINGS Tasks List the tasks you d expect to undertake in this occupation Employment prospects What are the current and future prospects of getting employment in this occupation? Wages What is the average weekly wage for this occupation? PAGE 15
Job role/ occupation (continued): JOB ASPECTS YOUR FINDINGS How many people work in the occupation? How many females/ males if a non-traditional occupation? How many hours can I expect to work? Availability of full time/ part time hours Will experienced workers be leaving the industry in the next few years to make room for me? Will there be more work available? Where are the jobs? Location and industries who employ the occupation Education and skills What kind of education and skills are needed for this role? Lastly, to confirm your findings: Check Australian JobSearch and other internet job search websites to corroborate the information you have found on the Job Outlook website. Search for job vacancies (even if you aren t ready to apply yet) to check if the tasks, conditions, wages and training required match your findings. PAGE 16 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
PART 02 Now that you have a solid base of information about your target job, it s time to look at what else might be slowing you down or stopping you from gaining employment in the occupation you want. Everyone has barriers, but now that you re on the right path towards your goal you can use the following questionnaire to assess which areas you need help in. Barrier group 1: Lifestyle HEALTH Is your health at a level where you feel able to take on the tasks of the occupation? SLEEP Do you have good sleeping patterns that fit with normal working hours for your chosen occupation? CLOTHING Do you have appropriate clothing for the type of job you re aiming for? (eg: enough for a working week) CHILDCARE/ OTHER CARE Do you have arrangements for suitable childcare or care of anyone else you are currently responsible for that will allow you to begin work? YES YES YES YES NO NO NO NO Barrier group 2: Skills and training QUALIFICATIONS Do you have the appropriate training currently being requested by employers (from the job ads you sourced)? SKILLS/ EXPERIENCE Does your current skill set/ experience match that being requested by employers (from the job ads you sourced)? YES YES NO NO Barrier group 3: Job-search skills and preparation APPROPRIATE AND UP-TO-DATE RESUME AND COVER LETTER YES NO SAMPLES OR EXAMPLES OF PREVIOUS WORK DONE YES NO JOB-SEARCH SKILLS Knowing where to look for the type of job you re wanting, how to approach the application process etc. INTERVIEW SKILLS Knowing how to approach an interview situation, follow up with an employer and proceed through the recruitment process INTERVIEW CLOTHING Do you have appropriate clothing for the type of interview typical of your occupation? YES YES YES NO NO NO PAGE 17
PART 03 Getting started In Part 2 Barriers you identified the areas you need assistance in addressing to help you to be successful in gaining and maintaining employment in your chosen occupation. In Part 3 Plan for action, it s time to think about how you can get help. In the space to the right list each item you ticked no for in the previous section and make notes on the actions you will take to address your barrier. Including a timeframe for addressing each item helps you to see the bigger picture of how your journey towards your occupation will look, and how long it may take to achieve your goal. Item: Actions you can take to address the barrier: Timeframe for action: Item: Actions you can take to address the barrier: Timeframe for action: Item: Actions you can take to address the barrier: Timeframe for action: Item: Actions you can take to address the barrier: Timeframe for action: PAGE 18 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER... Resumes If one of the barriers you identified was that your resume needs to be improved, or you don t have a resume yet, there are plenty of websites that have resume templates for you to use. One of the best websites for this is the Victorian Government s Youth Central website. This website contains templates for job-seekers with many different backgrounds including job-seekers who haven t finished school and have some work experience, jobseekers who have completed tertiary education but don t have much work experience etc. To locate these templates: 1. Go to www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au 2. From the menu near the top of the page choose Jobs 3. Choose Sample resumes and cover letters from the menu 4. Download the Word version of the most appropriate resume and be sure to save it to your computer or memory stick 5. Email your completed resume to yourself so you can always access it through the internet, you never know when you ll need to use it! Interviews If you haven t attended a job interview before, you haven t attended a job interview in a long time, or you just don t feel confident in your interview skills there are many things you can do to prepare yourself better and increase your confidence. The following tips can help you: 1. Practice answering interview questions. Search the internet for sample interview questions, you can even search by occupation (eg: retail interview questions). Choose some questions you are likely to be asked and make some notes about how you might answer. Writing two to three points you may answer for each question means that at least one answer will come to you when asked in an interview situation. 2. Ask your employment service provider to assist you with a mock interview to develop your skills. This will help with your verbal and nonverbal communication skills in an interview. You can also use your friends and family to help you with this. 3. If you are lacking things like appropriate interview clothing or transport to interviews ask for help. Your employment service provider may be able to refer you to organisations like Fitted for Work to help you succeed in being prepared for interviews. PAGE 19
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER... Training and courses As part of the barriers you identified in the previous sections, you may have identified that you need to undertake further education or training to come closer to working in your chosen occupation. There are many courses and many training providers who are offering training to help you gain the skills required to be successful in your occupation. Before choosing a course it really pays to ask a few questions to help you decide if it is going to benefit you long term. Below are some tips to help you sort through all the courses and training providers available. Questions to ask a training provider 1. What does the course cover? Ask for the units/ subjects you ll be completing. If it s a nationally recognised course (eg: Certificate II Preapprenticeship) ask the training provider for the list of units and elements you ll be covering. 2. If you enrol in the course, how will this affect any training you might want to enrol into in the future? Many courses you might look at undertaking will affect your eligibility to undertake similar level courses in the future. Eg: If you are considering undertaking a course in administration how will this affect your eligibility to undertake a traineeship if that is your goal? 3. What assistance does the training provider offer to help you find work after completion of the course? Do they have their own employment assistance programs/ procedures and if not, do they have any affiliated employment programs they regularly refer students onto to achieve employment? 4. And finally, what is the success rate of students who undertake the course finding employment in the target occupation after the training is finished? The training provider may not have all the answers to your questions, but the answers they do give and the attitude to your enquiries will tell you a lot about the providers commitment to a positive employment outcome for you. PAGE 20 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
PART 03 FINAL CHECKLIST Use this checklist to see the overall picture of where you are currently in your journey towards gaining employment in your chosen occupation. Provide a copy of this page to your employment service provider so they can assist you further. Choose a review date to re-evaluate your progress concentrating on the items you ticked no for. Your name: Occupation choice/s: ITEM I have enough information about the occupation/s I am considering (basic information, availability of work etc.) DATE / / REVIEW DATE / / REVIEW DATE / / YES NO YES NO YES NO Comment: I have all the skills/ qualifications I need to be successful in competing for a job in this occupation. YES NO YES NO YES NO Comment: I am personally ready to take on a role in this occupation (transport, work/ interview clothing, health, childcare etc.) YES NO YES NO YES NO Comment: My resume is up to date, electronic and is relevant to the job I am aiming for. I have a sufficient cover letter. YES NO YES NO YES NO Comment: I know how to find vacancies and apply for jobs in this occupation. YES NO YES NO YES NO Comment: I know what type of interview I will need to attend for this occupation and I m confident in my interview skills. YES NO YES NO YES NO Comment: PAGE 21
NOTES PAGE 22 A toolkit for job-seekers to help you compare occupations and find the best fit for you.
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To obtain copies of this resource please visit: www.melbournesnorth.com.au/i-step You can contact NORTH Link on (03) 9479 3339 Produced by Skye d Avoine for the i-step program NORTH Link 2013 i-step Program: This project is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Local Employment Co-ordinator Flexible Funding Pool. Please acknowledge NORTH Link if you reproduce any part of this toolkit for your work.