Independent Schools Guide 2023: How industry partnerships are giving Toorak College students a head start

Madeleine McComb’s career journey began during her time at Toorak College, thanks to a forward-looking initiative that brings the world of industry and corporate partnerships into the school.

With a first-class honours science degree in civil systems, McComb is now a cadet engineer at Downer Group, a major company involved in the construction of airports and specialised pavements.

“I am a very different person to the person I was in high school. I’d say I was confident then but it’s a different confidence now. I can pick up the phone and talk to people I’ve never met. I can go into a room full of senior leaders and feel comfortable to speak up and share my opinion,” says McComb.

“It’s super important to have really strong female role models in STEM fields. This partnership makes a big difference to accessibility for females in these fields and I’m really excited to be part of it.”

Led by Principal Kristy Kendall, Toorak College works with major businesses – including Downer Group, Cell Care, Australia’s largest cord blood and tissue bank, and Cox Architecture – to introduce students to potential career pathways and networks.

Students are offered work-shadowing opportunities, are linked with former students to gain career and industry insights, and build a network of potential employment contacts.

The centrepiece of the initiative sees Year 12 students go through a selection process with a handful of students chosen by employers to join a cadet program. While they complete their university studies, they are paid by their employer, gain valuable workplace experience during university holidays and graduate with a guaranteed job offer.

“It’s always been in the fabric of Toorak College to give girls a head start and to encourage them to think about the world beyond school. In the past five years, we’ve thought more aggressively about how we can bring that outside world to the girls, particularly how we can bring industry to them,” says Kendall.

“Industries are crying out for intelligent young women but they usually wait until those young women finish uni and then give them internships. Instead, we’ve targeted industries and they are working with our girls at school, mentoring them through their university years and guaranteeing them employment opportunities.”

The program is focused on STEM careers and a large percentage of students at Toorak College study science, technology and maths-based subjects in their senior years.

The program begins in Years 9 and 10. Most recently, a group of students considering architecture spent time at Cox Architecture as part of a work-shadowing experience.

Year 10 students receive a Morrisby career guidance report to give them some suggested career pathways and in Year 11, they join the Empower Network – a LinkedIn group of hundreds of Toorak Collegians who are willing to share insights about their careers and the industries they work in.

“Our Year 11s can be informally mentored and have a safe space to ask questions. They generate conversation topics and any Collegian can contribute to that conversation,” says Kendall.

“In Year 12, a company like Downer Group puts interested students through a series of interviews and experiential learning journeys and selects students who become cadets. During their university course they work within the business and after completing their degree, they offer employment at project manager level.”

This year, Kendall hopes to add mine rehabilitation as a potential career pathway for students to explore and she is also in talks with a major financial institution.

“Girls can be very motivated by safe choices and that can leave them behind in a changing world,” she says.

“My goal is to open their minds so they take a chance, look for opportunities and know they have everything they need inside them to succeed.”

TOORAK COLLEGE

73-93 Old Mornington Road, Mount Eliza

Website: toorakcollege.vic.edu.au
Enquiries: 03 9788 7200
Years: Kindergarten to Year 12
Denomination: Non-denominational
Gender: Co-ed ELC to Year 4; All Girls Years 5 to 12
Fees: $ 6932 -$31,792
Boarding: Yes
Scholarships: Yes
ATAR (median for 2022): 87

This article appeared in Domain’s 2023 Independent Schools Guide.