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Information for Parents

Careers and Employment welcome parents of Swinburne students. We hope the information we provide would assist you in your son's/daughter's career planning and job hunting preparation.

  • Career Outcome for Swinburne TAFE Courses

    Find out about prospects and possibilities

  • Career Outcome for Swinburne Higher Education Courses

    Find out about prospects and possibilities

  • Careers Counselling

    Our qualified Careers Consultants are available for consultations on every campus.

  • Workshops and Seminars

    Free Job Hunting workshops are run during semesters at all campuses by our qualified Careers Consultants. We encourage students to attend as many workshops as they possibly can.

  • Resume Checking Service

    A Careers Consultant is on hand to check resumes and make suggestions. Examples of Resumes and Cover Letters are available from our offices, and can be downloaded from our website.

  • SwinEmploy

    SwinEmploy is Swinburne's online jobs database. Employers advertise employment opportunities on SwinEmploy. Students must register to access part-time, full-time, course-related, graduate and immediate start positions, workshops and seminars, news, articles and links to a large number of sites.

  • Annual Swinburne University Employment Fair

    Careers & Employment runs an Employment Fair with the specific aim of assisting our final year undergraduate students with graduate jobs. Students have the opportunity to interact with 30-40 employers at the fair. We encourage students to attend. Date of next year's event will be advised soon.

  • Graduate Recruitment Program

    This program targets final year undergraduates. Due to the large numbers of graduates seeking graduate positions many large companies use a formalised recruitment method to recruit the best person for the position. The competition is fierce so students need to start their job search at the start of their final year at uni.

  • Mid-Year Entry

    Choosing a course at mid-year is no different to choosing a course at any other time. There is a difference however in the method in which you apply. Courses that begin at the start of the year, particularly university and TAFE Diploma courses are clearly listed and explained in the VTAC Guide. There is no single guide or central application point for mid-year courses.

  • Infosheet for Prospective Students

    If your son or daughter would like to know more about studying at Swinburne University, here is a first stop to find out about courses and careers.

How Parents Can Help In Making Choices

Parents are highly influential in their child’s choice of course. They influence their child’s choice whether they are passive or active about it.

Passive Influence
Even without meaning/wanting to be involved, parents will influence their children’s course choices by the work example they have lived and the values they have shown. Students will often (but not always!) want to enter a career that fits in with their parents values.

Active Influence
If parents do want to be actively involved in their children’s choices, they need to be informed about the course and employment scene today, as it is very different to the situation of twenty years ago.

Find out about:

  • The difference between short courses, TAFE and University.
  • The range of courses available
  • Employment outcomes of graduates of each course being considered
  • Salary range of graduates of these courses
  • New “World of Work” which for those with high career ambitions usually involves changing jobs every few years and changing careers at least three times

If you want to give your child advice always bear in mind– what is best for your child

  • What are your child’s skills, abilities values and personal style?
  • Even if your child has the academic ability to complete a course do they have the stamina, ambition and independent study skills to see them through?
  • Don’t confuse what YOU would like for your child (or yourself) with what THEY want. Obviously, your child will have to live with all the consequences long after the course decision is made. Also, should you be too obvious in pushing for what you think is the “right course” you can diminish your child’s feeling of responsibility and ownership for many aspects of their decision.

Be an active listener
It is valuable for students to have a safe and caring sounding board for their ideas. Talking about the course options, without being told the answer, is helpful in arriving at a decision.