WHAT IS CAREERLINK?
Students aiming to enter TAFE, university, traineeships, apprenticeships or employment need a curriculum which enhances their opportunity to access these destinations. The CareerLink Project is a School-Industry program offering both Workplace Learning and Training Courses.

Students at Sacred Heart College are able to access a large range of Vocational Education and Training (VET) Certificates by being part of a cluster of schools. Sacred Heart College is in the northern suburbs cluster titled CareerLink. Other schools in the CareerLink cluster include: Carmel School, Swan Valley Anglican School, St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School, Hale School, St Mark’s Anglican Community School, John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School, Kingsway Christian College and Lake Joondalup Baptist College. Students who choose CareerLink may have students from some of these schools in their VET course.

All courses must attract a viable class size to go ahead.

HOW CAREERLINK OPERATES
Students spend one day per week (Tuesday) in the workplace or the training course. Students must make their own way to and from their course or work placement.

TRAINING COURSES
CareerLink students are offered a broad range of VET courses that are nationally accredited, leading to a qualification. Each course is conducted face to face at a specific training campus at a variety of locations. There is not an option to complete courses online. Students attend one day per week on Tuesdays, with a discrete class from CareerLink member schools. Students receive pastoral care in the new learning environment and progress reports are provided to schools and parents.

The range of courses offered to CareerLink students start at Certificate II level through to a Certificate IV, depending on the industry area. Some courses are year length courses, however some Trade courses operate over a two-year period (i.e. Years 11 and 12).

Students who are successful in achieving Units of Competency towards the completion of a Certificate will be issued with a Statement of Attainment. The nominal hours for each qualification equate to unit equivalents in batches of 55 hours, which count towards Secondary Graduation and listed on the students' WA Certificate of Education.

DO STUDENTS HAVE TO DO CAREERLINK IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO UNDERTAKE AN ATAR PATHWAY?
Yes, Sacred Heart College students who do not choose an ATAR pathway must choose a CareerLink pathway. Any student who for whatever reason does not wish to pursue such a pathway must have an interview (including parents) with the Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning.

VET CERTIFICATES OFFERED IN 2025      * (indicates a 2-year course over Years 11 and 12)
NB: All courses for 2025 are still to be finalised.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER EXTERNAL COURSES?
There is no option to do other external courses at Sacred Heart College. Students can either choose VET courses through CareerLink or the VET Certificates we offer onsite such as Cert II/III Music and Cert II IT and Digital Media. If a course cannot be found amongst this list to suit a student’s interest, they can choose to do a work placement only through CareerLink on Tuesdays, ideally in which their work placement can be tailored around their area of interest.

WORKPLACE LEARNING ALONGSIDE COURSES
CareerLink is a program that equips students with employability skills. Workplace Learning is recognised by SCSA and students receive credit towards the achievement of WACE. This component of the program is vital in developing the social capital skills of young people. We are often told of students who are offered an apprenticeship, traineeship and employment as a result of their exposure to the real world of adult learning and work experience. Research proves that workplace learning helps to develop networks in the industry.

Skills achievement is recorded in the student’s CareerLink Logbook which is issued by the School VET Coordinator. A minimum hour of 55 workplace learning is required by each student enrolled in CareerLink at Sacred Heart College. Some courses require more than 55 hours (i.e. 110 hours for most trades and Ed Support courses). Students normally complete their workplace learning during blocks in exam breaks and when their course finishes for the year (by the end of Term 3). For some courses, and to ensure minimum hour requirements are met, students need to complete workplace learning for several days during the school holidays.

BENEFITS OF CAREERLINK
The CareerLink Program benefits students by:

• Developing an understanding of the theory by practical application.
• Enhancing further education, training and employment prospects.
• Assisting in career planning.
• Providing a realistic understanding of expectations in specific industries.
• Boosting self-esteem, confidence and responsibility.
• Developing an awareness of the link between school, further education and employment.

WHERE CAN STUDENTS FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE COURSES?
Any student who wishes to participate in the 2025 CareerLink program is expected to attend the CareerLink Expo and Information Evening at Sacred Heart College. Further details of the expo will be sent to parents.

PURPOSE OF THE CAREERLINK EXPO
The purpose of the Expo is to provide students with the opportunity to meet course providers, discuss course requirements and learn about career outcomes from the providers themselves. A short presentation is given at 6:00pm and 7:00pm for parents/students to gain a fuller understanding of the CareerLink program. A number of key staff will be also in attendance to answer any questions that students and parents may have. All of the 2025 courses will be showcased by their providers.

APPLICATION PROCESS FOR ENTRY INTO CAREERLINK PROGRAM
Students must apply to join CareerLink and interviews are conducted at the College. The Career Development Coordinator liaises with the School VET Coordinator/Career Counsellor to allocate the student to the appropriate Training Course aligned with the student’s career goal.

Once the student has been to the CareerLink Expo, applications will be received for 2025. All applications are submitted online. Once a student has been accepted into the CareerLink program, they only fill in a short re-enrolment form in future years.

STARTING CAREERLINK IN YEAR 12
Students can do ATAR in Year 11 and then change to CareerLink for Year 12. All Cert IV courses can be entered in Year 12 only and do not require that you have done the Cert III previously (although it is recommended). The only exception to this is the Certificate IV Fitness course, in which the Certificate III Fitness is a prerequisite.

WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER A 1-YEAR EVENTS OR AUTOMOTIVE COURSE?
If students are interested in a Certificate III Events or Certificate II Automotive (both can be done in Year 11 or 12), the following is recommended once they finish the course:

• Events - look at Cert IV Business for Year 12, which is an excellent pairing for work in the field of event management or work placement and obtain further work experience in the event industry.
• Automotive - work experience in the automotive trade.

DOES A CERTIFICATE IV COURSE GET YOU INTO UNIVERSITY?
Notre Dame, Edith Cowan, Murdoch and Curtin Universities accept a combination of a Certificate IV (any type) plus achievement of English competency and WACE achievement as the equivalent ATAR achievement of 70. This makes many courses available to students choosing this pathway at University. Students will need to confer with the SHC Careers Counsellors to check individual universities for their ATAR entry point. Students completing this pathway may also apply for UWA via their Experienced Based Entry pathway.

Courses that have a guaranteed ATAR of 70, means that as long as a student meets WACE, passes English and gets Certificate IV, they will definitely get a place at these institutions. If a course has an indicative ATAR of 70, it is not guaranteed as they will select from the top rank scores downwards. Usually, students will get a spot and hence why they indicate the ATAR as being 70. You can see all of the TISC data from previous years and what the cut off scores ended up being for every course the previous year at www.tisc.edu.au

EXAMPLES OF PATHWAYS FROM COURSES

• Certificate III Health Support Assistance to Certificate IV Health and Nursing Preparation students can then apply for Diploma of Enrolled Nursing and then into Bachelor of Nursing (shortened pathway) or Bachelor of Science (Nursing).
• Certificate III Business to Certificate IV Business students can they apply to a range of courses which accept Cert IV as entry point (i.e. Bachelor of Commerce at ECU, Notre Dame, Curtin or Murdoch).