Left to right: Advertising and Brand Manager at Victoria University Matthew Hazel poses with 2015 Work Experience of a Lifetime Leo Burnett Winner and Brentwood Secondary College’s Carlin Stephenson and Leo Burnett Account Director Sarah Lock.
Nearly every Year 10 and 11 student completes a work experience, but only a few make their peers say, “Wow.”
Thanks to Victoria University, seven such students in the state benefited from a rare opportunity to work directly with some of Australia’s top brands, including: BONDS, Mushroom Group, Leo Burnett, Nova Entertainment, Hacer Group, HM Group and Quest.
In its second year, Victoria University’s “Work Experience of a Lifetime” challenged students state-wide to an interactive online competition to showcase their career passion in a compelling visual or written entry. Winners were selected by an expert panel to take part in a week-long, immersive work and mentoring experience in late September.
Winner, Carlin Stephenson from Brentwood Secondary College, said the opportunity to work with global advertising firm Leo Burnett is a step towards attaining his dream job.
“Learning from the most creative people in the industry was amazing. I can now say that I’ve worked with one of the top five advertising agencies in the world,” Stephenson said.
Professor Peter Dawkins, Vice-Chancellor and President of Victoria University, said two additional placements were offered this year, along with a more diverse range of partner organisations, following a strong response to the inaugural Work Experience of a Lifetime programme in 2014.
“More than 60,000 pupils undertake in excess of 4 million hours of work experience every year with the hope of uncovering insights into their potential future. Victoria University believes it is vital that students, educators and businesses all work together to ensure every hour of that time is well-spent and we are proud to be supporting top student talent in their career development,” Dawkins said.
Andrew Woodhead, Creative Director at Leo Burnett Melbourne, said his team is dedicated to fostering talent and believes the structured placement provides a fantastic overview of the workings of an integrated agency.
“Carlin was immersed from day one in a range of disciplines to help him develop a sound understanding of the opportunities within the industry. We gave him a taste of the filming, design and sound production involved in creating some of Australia’s most recognisable brand campaigns, including Honda, 7-Eleven and Peters Ice Cream,” Woodhead said.
How your Ssudents can get involved
“Work Experience of a Lifetime” is open to all Year 10 and 11 students in Victoria. Career counsellors from all high schools generally receive collateral in May. For more information, to view entries, or to see how your students can apply in the future, visit: www.vuworkexperience.com.au.
