Daniel Grech
Careers Development Consultant

Mas Careers

Daniel has worked in the traineeship & apprenticeship sphere since 2004. His passion lies in ensuring students are aware there are many ways to get to a post-secondary destination. Daniel provides information on career options, workplace expectations, making the most of your education and general career assistance.

TOPICS

Apprenticeships; pathways; alternative routes to success; workplace information; what young adults need to do to job hunt and prepare for work.

Angela Angelopoulos
Education & Employment Programs Coordinator

Jesuit Social Services

Angela is passionate about upskilling young people to be employable, demystifying the job search process, developing confidence in young people to perform their best at interview and achieve their goals and emphasises the value of planning and preparation to ensure young people can get their foot in the door.

Angela has a breadth of knowledge and experience in the employment services sector with well over 15 years in Recruitment.

TOPICS
Career planning; job readiness; career advice; and re-engagement

Deb Smith
Finance Broker

Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers

Deb is a passionate person who has been running her own business for 5 years.
Deb is currently working in the finance sector and has an entrepreneurial approach and a strong sales background. She has volunteered in children's mentoring roles and as a general life coach.
Deb has a passion for helping people with financial literacy.

TOPICS
Doing what you love; trying different things, business ownership and management

Peter Venables
Managing Director

Integrity Business College

Peter and his wife Joanne launched Integrity Business College in 2005 with offices in Docklands Melbourne, regional Victoria and South Australia.

 Peter has a wealth of personal experience in business management, training and consultancy, having owned a number of successful hospitality, retail and events management businesses.

His area of expertise is in the training management, virtual training and providing career pathways in the IT and Business as well as School-Based traineeships.

TOPICS
IT industry, training, business management

Maja Walker
Executive & Performance Coach

Lessons for Life

Maja Walker is a self-employed executive and performance coach, coaching business owners, leaders and managers from well-known organisations including Telstra, Nestle, Victorian Government departments and RMIT.

As an Executive Coach, there are many things I can discuss with students that may give them a better perspective about work-life and provide them with some myth busters, pearls and tips that will hopefully provide them with a peace of mind and reduce their levels of stress and anxiety they must be experiencing at the movement - especially year 12 students.

TOPICS
Non-linear approach to learning & Career development

Ben Rodgers
Executive Officer

Inner North Community Foundation

The INCF has given more than $2.4M in grants to more than 130 organisations in the communities of Darebin, Moreland and Yarra since it was established in 2007.

Ben’s role is at the forefront of social impact and his focus as a speaker is on philanthropy, community and how everyone has a role to contribute to creating prosperous, connected, cohesive communities.

TOPICS

Philanthropy 101: How giving of time and money makes us a stronger community

Will Martin 
Youth Vocation Specialist

Orygen (National centre of excellence for youth mental health)

Having worked within youth employment & the wider youth mental health system, Will combines both a lived and professional guide to the world of youth employment. Will is incredibly passionate about providing a positive perspective for young people hoping to achieve their ambitions. Having been through the TAFE system and not completing high school or advancing to university study Will provides an example of the “less conventional” pathways working.

TOPICS

Vocational guidance and what future employment looks like. What skills young people need for the future. Matching your desired career with the careers of the future

Andrew Gibbs
Air Traffic Controller

Airservices Australia

Andrew started his career journey at 19 as an Airframe Fitter for the RAAF. Andrew had different careers in the RAAF such as becoming a PT and then an Air Traffic Controller. On both these occasions, he had to go back to training or school to achieve his goals. Andrew is passionate about developing yourself through formal schooling, reading, researching and travel to be the best version of you that you can be.

TOPICS

Exploring your interests, self-development, journey through the RAAF and becoming an Air Traffic Controller

Scott Collom
Apprentice Outreach Organiser

Young Worker Centre

Scott is an electrician from the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne who started his apprenticeship journey back in 2014. Whilst he loves his trade, he saw and experienced countless cases of apprentices being exploited at work. He now works at the Young Workers Centre with the aim to empower and educate apprentices about their rights at work so they are better equipped to deal with any workplace dispute.

TOPICS

Apprentice Readiness Training

Jordan Gibbs
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Currently undertaking a Masters/PhD in Clinical Psychology, Jordan has worked in research and tertiary education for over 4 years. His primary work is the culturally safe and appropriate provision of care and wellbeing support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples across various sectors. He has a passion for supporting young people living with disadvantage and their educational and life goals, whatever they may be. While he continues to work in Victoria, Jordan is currently based out of Darwin, Northern Territory. This can provide a unique perspective on working across time zones, and for students looking to explore working interstate, or in rural or remote communities.

Jordan provides information on how young people can build strong careers by taking opportunities for growth including education, volunteering, employment and networking.

TOPICS

Studying and working in Psychology and Forensics

Robert Brown
Educational Advisor

Make Your Move

Robert is a degree qualified financial & management accountant with over 25 years’ experience in the domestic and international freight, transport & logistics industry before he moved into consulting roles in 2014.

Prior industry experience included financial analysis, operational performance, business governance, security, risk management and Executive Management roles in large corporate organisations such as TNT, Ansett Australia, Qantas Freight, Australian air Express and CT Freight.

TOPICS

International Freight, Transport & Logistics pathways.

Chris M Shields
Architect

CMS Architects

Christopher obtained his Bachelor of Architecture in 1984 from RMIT and is a member of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

As a registered architect, he has 25 years’ experience in commercial & residential design & construction projects. CMS Architects provides excellent presentation skills, with the latest computer-aided design & documentation technology.

TOPICS
Architecture and the Architectural industry

Peter Sheko
Program Administration Coordinator

Jesuit Social Services

Armed with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), Cert IV in Training & Assessment (TAE) and Cert IV in Career Development, Peter is a highly experienced employment services practitioner, with 22 years in employment/disability-related programs.

He is passionate about advocating for disadvantaged jobseekers and marketing them to potential employers.

TOPICS

Believe in yourself.  Effective job applications and interview techniques

Mei Nee Cheong
Media and Marketing Manager

Islamic Museum of Australia

Mei Nee is the Media and Marketing Manager at the Islamic Museum of Australia. She is responsible for implementing the Museum’s Media and Marketing strategy and also oversees the IMA’s Public Programming and outreach activities.

Mei Nee has a strong interest in supporting young people transition into the workforce, particularly those from culturally diverse backgrounds who may be subject to and challenged by unconscious bias in the workplace.

TOPICS

Supporting young people transition into the workforce

David Reid
Policy & Technical Manager

Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria

David has had a rich career journey in his chosen field of horticulture. David studied at Deakin, Monash, RMIT and Melbourne, studying various disciplines. He has worked as the Ranger at Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens, a Plant Standards Officer and Compliance Coordinator for Agriculture Victoria, before settling into a career supporting the Victorian horticultural industry with the Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria, as their Policy and Technical Manager.

TOPICS

Horticulture

Simon Clarke
Coordinator Festival and Events 

Darebin City Council

Simon has worked in theatre and performance with a focus on community engagement, young, emerging artists and youth audiences for over twenty-five years. He has produced, directed and performed copious independent shows. Before he started leading companies and working as a senior arts manager, Simon worked as an actor, dancer, puppeteer, writer and dramaturgy.

TOPICS

Arts sector employment opportunities; planning a career in the arts and career planning; working with communities; making performance with non-performers.

Dillon Norris
Self Employed

Dillon is a qualified carpenter with over 10 years’ experience in the construction industry. After completing his apprenticeship in 2014 He went on to establish and run a successful small business, work for large architectural building company’s. This included everything from simple residential extensions to extravagant commercial architectural pieces. Dillon had a change of heart at the end of 2019 and decided to move into youth work which he is currently completing a CERT IV.

TOPICS

Construction Industry, Carpentry, Small business

Luke Phillips
Designer

Into Carry Co.

After graduating from Industrial Design at RMIT, Luke worked for 2 years as Studio Manager at a small bespoke architectural lighting design studio. He then embarked on a creative gap year, working in the hospitality industry to free time to pursue his creative projects.
Luke currently freelancers his graphic and product design skills while working several days a week at Four Pillars Gin Distillery.
Recently he has launched a product business focused on, building better habits around-consuming material goods.

TOPICS

Alternative career pathways, Design & Sustainability, Starting a Business