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Megan's jump into an ICT career

Year 10 student, Megan Shellie is one of 20 secondary school students who are able to kick-start their ICT careers, having won invaluable industry placements with some of Australia's largest ICT companies.

The ICT Achievers Program is a joint initiative between the Brumby Government and the Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association (VITTA) and provides high achieving secondary students with a 15-day industry placement at 15 diverse mentor organisations.

VITTA Executive Officer Renee Hoareau said the program "rewards excellence and gives students an insight into just how far a career in ICT can take them".

"By delivering valuable hands-on experience to students under the supervision of industry professionals, we are ensuring our young people are literate in the high-tech skills that businesses need," she said.

"Businesses everywhere need people with ICT skills - and this means young people today choosing to study ICT are opening up their options to more jobs, industries and rewarding careers than ever before.

"These placements show just how diverse and interesting ICT careers can really be, with students working on areas including computer games, open source programming, web design, software engineering and eLearning."

Renee Hoareau said that this year's program was richer than traditional work experience due to the active involvement of industry professionals as mentors for the students, providing everyone involved with a renewed focus on knowledge creation and sharing.

During their placement, students will write a web log and deliver an oral report on their experiences to their local school community.

"This allows the students to creatively share their experiences, also providing their peers with an insight into working in the ICT industry."

At the completion of the program, students will receive an evaluation from their mentor and will be invited to an awards ceremony where they will be given an honorarium and a certificate in recognition of their achievements and ongoing commitment to using ICT.

For more information on the ICT Achievers Program, visit www.ictachievers.vitta.org.au

Source: Multimedia Victoria - www.mmv.vic.gov.au/NewsTopachieverslaunchtheirICTcareers