The following is a piece from Melbourne University student Michelle Mannering, who visited The Huddle for Careers Day.

The Huddle was hustling and bustling as students from Blackburn English Language School came to visit Arden Street. With their teachers Janet Carse and Keish Meares, there were smiles in all directions as they walked into the building.

When asked why they had come to North Melbourne, a range of answers flew around the room from 'to play footy', 'learn about TAFE' and 'jobs'. Careers Day at the Huddle encompassed a number of activities to help students understand the types of jobs that are available as well as the pathways to those occupations.

A day at the Huddle can’t start without an icebreaker though! Personal bingo is a favourite and it is really surprising to see that there is always a person in the room who doesn’t like chocolate. Once everyone had found a person who liked sport or had a part-time job, pupils told the class what career they envisage for themselves. It was interesting to hear diverse responses from web designers, to doctors and nurses, electricians, plumbers and sportsmen.

Break time ensured the football aspect of their trip to The Huddle was satisfied. The students were thrilled to have a kick on the same oval that the Kangaroos' players train on. While most hadn’t played footy before, they picked it up quickly and a number of ripper goals were scored.

Sports can’t last forever and it was back to the classroom to hit the job guides. Students flicked through the thick booklets, finding their dream careers and discovering what they needed to do in order to get there.

Some learnt that to be a nurse they had to do chemistry, which was followed by a very stern 'I don’t like chemistry!', while others changed their careers trajectories entirely. This exercised rolled onto goal-setting and planning, a great activity to help students think about both short term and long term goals. Most of the students come from Myanmar, with the odd one from Iran and Cambodia, and chose to 'get better at English' as one of their short term goals.

Following a short session on strengths and weaknesses, students worked on building a resume for future employment. They learnt how to write a resume as well as important information to include. Now they are all ready to get jobs!

The students kindly thanked The Huddle for helping them to better their career prospects and for the enjoyable time spent at the Huddle. They were a wonderful bunch of students and each had a grin on their face as they waved goodbye and called back “we will visit again!!!”

Michelle Mannering