Creating career opportunities for high school students

Inspirational. Driven. Kind.

Copperfield College is a large school with 68 nationalities and serves an area with high youth unemployment.

The school also has enthusiastic students with a sense of purpose.

Kings Park Campus Principal Mary Chiodo has been at the school for thirty-two years and has played a significant role in creating this positive culture.

Her standout contribution is the award-winning Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) program, which actively creates connections outside the school and future career opportunities for year eleven and twelve students.

“What we do at Copperfield is extend the certificate to mirror the world of work while the students are at school,” says Mary.

She is delighted to be voted a Westfield Local Hero. “It’s lovely to be a recipient. I am very proud to work with and for the students at Copperfield College and our community.”

The students spend three days a week in VCAL classes, one day on work placement and one day studying a VET subject that goes towards a nationally accredited TAFE certificate.

This structure allows them to work with employers and mentors and learn soft skills like workplace collaboration and project scoping that aren’t necessarily taught in traditional subjects.

“We have tried to make it a seamless transition between school and work, which improves their chances of finding employment,” says Mary.

Last year, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority recognised the success of the VCAL program and awarded Mary the Teacher Award for Excellence in Program Development.

Westfield Local Heroes are nominated and voted for by their communities, with the three top finalists per Westfield centre each awarded a $10,000 grant for their affiliated organisation.

Copperfield College will use its grant to commission an independent evaluation of its VCAL program and develop ways to replicate it in other schools.

“We want to share our success with other schools. It is about making the system richer, not just about making our school the number one school. The success of the grant will also be that we have put into place programs and frameworks that we will be able to continue in the future.”

__For further information on the Westfield Local Heroes program, click here. __