Cobar High School Year 9 and 10 students were joined by Nyngan High School students for a job readiness workshop at the school recently.
The EDGE workshop concept was developed in 2013 by former careers advisor Sharna Dawson to bridge the gap she had noticed between student participation and employers’ expectations.
During the face-to-face, engaging and interactive workshop held at Cobar High, students had the opportunity to explore and discuss presentation, attitude, hygiene and communication skills—all of which can help young job applicants in the hiring process.
As part of the workshop, students met with representatives from local employers, Cobar Shire Council, Essential Energy, NSW Health, Aeris Resources and The Cobar Weekly to hear what they were after in a young employee.
The importance of attendance and the consequences of non-attendance, greeting people with a handshake, the value of networking and good communication skills were all covered in group discussions.
The representatives also shared their personal hiring and employment experiences with the students.
In addition to offering students unbiased careers advice, the workshop also gave them access to a group of professionals that worked with students on their grooming (including hair, clothes, skincare and makeup).
Sharna said the EDGE workshops aim to impart job-ready skills and confidence to students no matter their location or socioeconomic status.
“Having a program like our’s supported with funding from RIEP (Regional Industry Education Partnerships) allows us to bring our hands-on job ready workshops to the regions.
“We believe whatever programs happen on the coast should be delivered to all regions,” Sharna told The Cobar Weekly.
“We absolutely loved the day, and loved being with the 55 Cobar and Nyngan students.
“When we travel regionally, we are always blown away in particular with the manners, the level of co-operation and pure engagement from start to finish.”
