Benalla’s Lakeside Community Centre was a very noisy library on Tuesday 5 August when close to 300 Year 5 and 6 students gathered to hear local professionals speak about their careers. For the last three years Tomorrow Today, Benalla’s community foundation, has organised the “Living Libraries” event as part of the Education Benalla Program (EBP).
Sally Matheson, Tomorrow Today’s EBP manager explained more about what the event is all about; “Living Libraries is a bit like ‘speed dating’ for careers. Our volunteer ‘books’ are local professionals who sit at a table, often bringing with them some items that they use in their day-to-day work, and groups of students move from table to table to hear each ‘book’ share their story. There’s also time for students to ask questions.”
“The aim of our Year 5 & 6 careers program is to help students begin to build their career aspiration. We want students to broaden their horizons and think about what’s possible for their future. Having real people talk about their own career and what they love about it can be incredibly inspiring for our students.”
This year 24 local people volunteered their time, representing a comprehensive range of industries including: healthcare, animal care, building and construction, engineering, real estate, information technology, education, surveying, wellbeing, emergency services, creative arts, automotive, agriculture, family services and gliding.
Local personal trainer, Liesl Visagie one of the volunteer ‘books’, was enthusiastic about her involvement; “It was so much fun. I loved seeing the reaction on everyone’s faces and the intrigue. They asked good questions as well!”
All of Benalla’s schools with Year 5 and 6 students are invited to attend the event. Ellie Werner from Australian Christian College shared her feedback; “The morning was absolutely wonderful. The children returned so excited and inspired, which was lovely to see. We are hoping to build on this by linking our learning next semester to specific careers, helping the students make meaningful connections and understand the importance of their schooling now.”