Local Job Hunt Challenge

Overview

Lesson 4 of 10 in Pathways to Employment Success. Students learn to locate, interpret and compare current employment opportunities in Morwell, Traralgon and the wider Latrobe Valley, using online job boards and printed listings. The lesson builds on earlier work identifying employment interests and transferable skills.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• research local employment opportunities using digital and print sources
• identify key information in a job listing
• summarise job title, skills, qualifications and pay information accurately
• select information appropriate for a clear research purpose and audience

Success criteria

• I can locate at least five local job opportunities.
• I can record the job title, location, required skills, qualifications and pay information for each opportunity.
• I can use job-board filters and explain where my information came from.
• I can identify information that is missing or needs checking before applying.

Curriculum links

• Science: creating texts that communicate ideas and findings effectively for identified purposes and audiences, selecting appropriate content, language and text features and using digital tools.
• English Literacy: planning, creating, editing and publishing informative texts by organising ideas and selecting appropriate text features for purpose and audience.
• Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages: creating and presenting informative texts for diverse contexts, purposes and audiences, with appropriate vocabulary and conventions.
• General capabilities: Literacy, Information and Communication Technology Capability, Critical and Creative Thinking, and Personal and Social Capability.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Welcome and readiness. Teacher opens the welcome and readiness slides with the Kurnai College welcome page, the school-approved Acknowledgement of Country, eight classroom rules, and a 1–5 “How are you feeling?” check-in. Students enter, settle, indicate their number privately or on the board, and complete a positive primer such as naming one strength they could bring to a workplace.

2. 8–15 min · Purpose and model. Teacher displays the learning intention and success criteria slides and explains that job advertisements are informative texts designed for a particular audience. Display the annotated local job listing poster slide showing a real, teacher-checked local listing, such as a customer service role at Mid Valley Shopping Centre or a support worker role at Gippsland Lakes Complete Health; trace numbered arrows and matching colour highlights for job title, employer, location, duties, skills, qualifications, pay, hours and application details. Students identify which information would help them decide whether to apply.

3. 15–22 min · Tutorial and guided search. Teacher plays the job-board tutorial slides alongside a short teacher-approved screen recording demonstrating searches on Seek, Indeed and the Latrobe City Council jobs portal. Model filtering for Morwell, Traralgon and Latrobe Valley, checking the date, reading the full listing and distinguishing “not listed” from “not required”. Students follow the search steps with a partner or observe the printed version if they do not have a device.

4. 22–27 min · Set up the challenge. Teacher distributes the Local Job Hunt Research Template and explains that students must find and summarise five opportunities from reliable online or printed sources. Assign pairs or trios of 2–3 students, with roles such as searcher, reader and recorder; students choose a starting location and repeat the success criteria in their own words.

5. 27–50 min · Job Hunt Challenge. Teacher opens the challenge instruction slides and circulates, conferencing with students about search terms, source reliability and unfamiliar vocabulary. Provide the Local Job Hunt Research Template and the printed visual step-by-step guide and pre-selected local listings to students needing reduced digital load. Students research five suitable opportunities across Morwell, Traralgon or the broader Latrobe Valley, recording job title, employer, location, skills, qualifications, pay information, source and one question they would ask before applying. Students should record “not stated” rather than guess.

6. 50–56 min · Compare and check. Teacher displays the comparison and discussion slides and asks: “Which listing gives applicants the clearest information?” and “What could make a listing unsuitable or require further checking?” Students compare one opportunity with another, highlight missing information, and conduct a partner accuracy check against the success criteria.

7. 56–60 min · Exit reflection. Teacher returns to the plenary slides and asks students to share one local opportunity and one useful research strategy. Students complete the final reflection section of the Local Job Hunt Research Template, identifying how many opportunities they located, then submit the template or show it for a quick check.

Resources

• the complete Job Hunt Challenge slide deck
• the Local Job Hunt Research Template
• Short teacher-approved tutorial video or screen recording
• Devices with supervised access to Seek, Indeed and the Latrobe City Council jobs portal
• Large annotated screenshot poster of a teacher-checked local job listing
• Printed visual step-by-step job-search guide
• Pre-selected, printed local job listings with colour-coded sections
• Whiteboard, display screen and highlighters
• School-approved Acknowledgement of Country and classroom rules

Assessment

• During modelling, question students to check whether they can distinguish job title, duties, skills, qualifications, pay and location.
• During the challenge, check search filters, source dates and the accuracy of recorded information; conference with students who record assumptions rather than evidence.
• Collect or sight the research template and use the exit reflection to identify whether each student located five opportunities and can explain a search strategy.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters such as “This role requires…”, “The advertisement does not state…” and “I would check…”. Use the colour-coded poster, visual guide and printed listings for students who need explicit scaffolding.
• Pair students strategically and allocate clear roles. Offer teacher-selected search terms, reduced-choice listings and text-to-speech, zoom or read-aloud tools where appropriate.
• Support EAL/D learners with a mini glossary of job-board terms, icons and oral rehearsal before writing. Accept typed, handwritten or dictated responses while maintaining the same information requirements.
• Extend confident students by comparing two listings for the same type of role, evaluating which is more suitable for a particular applicant, or identifying evidence of audience, purpose and persuasive language.