‘Looking for a job? There are over 600 local jobs on the Geelong Careers website. It is free and easy to use. Our catch cry is “Helping the Geelong Region to make informed career decisions”. Our aim is to find locals, local job opportunities and ‘Experience for Work.’ We hear from Marianne Messer who managers the initiative, she saw a need for this when working at Deakin University as a Lecturer. ‘Geelong Careers is an information network. Easily accessible, Geelong Careers are opening doors, in one spot we have all the resources a job seeker could need. Geelong is transforming from a Manufacturing hub to new dynamic trending industries. We build partnerships.
‘We’ve divided careers into 9 categories. We’ve collected Stats, key sector trends, on each category, so job seekers can see how many jobs locally there are in their chosen field; the growth in the last 5 years; predicted growth over 5 years and average weekly wage.
“All our statistics come from the census data and we’ve found there are some unusual industries out there that you would never have considered. We were training kids for jobs that won’t exist in the future. Geelong Careers focus on where the future lies, the trending industries.
‘On the website there are videos of local kids and their success stories. It shows the mentoring aspect involved by the employers.
‘There is a noticeboard and via Air C.V. you can save your C.V. to the cloud. We have a futurist on the staff, which is very valuable.
‘Students can use Geelong Careers as a resource to find out about the training and experience they require to get into their chosen fields. It might even open their eyes to opportunities they hadn’t even considered.
‘How many times have you heard “but you don’t any experience”?
‘Job Seekers might find they have a gap in their C.V. and our ‘Experience for Work’ could help fill it as there are opportunities for job seekers to spend half days volunteering in an area they are interested in. We’ve linked in with Volunteering Geelong.
‘We’ve had some great success stories. One young girl made a video for us and secured a job after that. You might find the right experience you need to add to your C.V./portfolio.
‘The service is free for the Employer too. Need dedicated, enthusiastic staff? Contact us www.geelongcareers.org.au or Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/geelongcareers/
‘Geelong Careers is the only website like it in the country. I’ve been helping Ballarat, Benalla and the Yallourn area build their own.
‘We are part of GRLLEN, the Geelong Regional Local Learning and Employment Network.
Marianne’s first job was with Give Where You Live. She also worked as a journalist for the Geelong Advertiser and Krock. She lectured at Deakin University in Arts and Education before being inspired to head up the much needed Geelong Careers.
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