VOCATIONAL SERVICE

The vocational committee in the Rotary Club of Brighton is very involved in sponsoring students to attend various Rotary New Generation Programs.

As a club we have been very fortunate that students who we have put forward to attend the National Youth Science Forum have been selected to attend this very prestigious event. It is held each year in the first two weeks of January following the conclusion of their Yr11 studies and is offered in Canberra and, for the first time in 2010, in Perth . Our nominated student for January 2010 is very excited to be going to Perth .

The Health of the River Forum has been running for several years now and is a program that we encourage Yr10 students to attend. Young minds with fresh ideas may well be the ones to come up with a viable solution to our river and environmental problems. We sponsored a very enthusiastic young man to the Forum held in November 2009

The Science Experience, formerly The Siemen Science Experience, held annually in each state helps to stretch the minds of those Yr9 students who have yet to discover their particular area of interest. We have sponsored four students to attend the experience at Flinders University in January 2010

 

For several years now the Rotary Club of Brighton has made a donation to The Sir Charles Bright Scholarship Trust which gives financial scholarships to students with disabilities who are undertaking study courses during the following year. Last year we were advised that a local student would benefit from a Sir Charles Bright Scholarship and so we increased our donation to cover that. We have again this year provided a full scholarship.

Earlier this year we sponsored a student to attend the United Nations Youth Forum held in Brisbane as well as supported students to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment.

 

At a more local level we have become involved in the Youth Opportunities program that assists students who have lost direction both at school and at home to believe in them selves, to refocus and to achieve. We sponsor one student each year to undertake the program.

 

Also at the more local level one club member, a business man, recognized the need for young people to be taught how to apply for a job, how write a resume and how to present themselves at interview. He devised a program that covers all these points both in theory and in practice. We present the program to Yr 11 &12 students in both our local secondary schools over a period of four weeks. It has become a valued and successful component of each school's vocational studies program.

During the Rotary year we invite all the students whom we have sponsored through the year to attend a club meeting and give a brief presentation to members about the course they attended and what they got out of it. This is one of the most interesting and entertaining evenings on our calendar and really heartens members to see and hear from such vital and enthusiastic young people who are still to make their mark in life and to know that, in some small way, we have had a hand in that.

 

Another aspect of the Vocational Committee role is to suggest/organize at least one vocational visit for club members. Recently the members thoroughly enjoyed a vocational visit to the Metropolitan Fire Station. The talk and tour gave rise to a lot of questions and discussion and brought home the fact that we should all have an action plan should the need arise. None of us are exempt. This was underlined again the following week by a visit from a ‘Fiery' talking about Smoke Alarms and Home Action Plans.