It can be difficult to know if an industry or sector is the right one for you. Starting to train or research for a particular job, only to discover it’s not what you were expecting or something you’d like to do, can be both frustrating and discouraging.

An innovative and exciting collaboration between Careers NSW and Volunteering Central Coast, the Industry Experts program offers the opportunity to hear from experienced individuals from a variety of sectors to learn about their insights and journey.

These one on one, online hosted sessions provide a fantastic way of pairing skilled workers with a new generation curious about what it takes to be a mechanic, a teacher, a carpenter, a medical researcher. It doesn’t matter what industries you’re interested in. So long as there’s an Industry Expert available for booking, there’s an opportunity to meet them and learn their perspectives. It also provides a terrific place to impart wisdom gained from years working in the field to younger or newer audiences.

If you’re interested in volunteering your time as an Industry Expert and aiding newcomers to a workforce, please read below to see how the project works and what’s involved when taking part.

If you’re interested in arranging a meeting with an Industry Expert for professional insight, please use our booking software, RADIO... CLICK HERE



How Does It Work?

The Industry Experts program involves volunteering your time for 30-minute sessions to meet people interested in hearing your industry experience. These sessions are informal, and a brilliant opportunity to tell your story and the lessons that you’ve learnt during your career.

For those that you’ll be meeting with, they gain a unique window into an industry that they might not have many connections to. It can be difficult reaching out or locating a source of perspective on a workplace. It can be even harder to do this without enrolling in a course or degree. The Industry Experts program offers such a place for gaining insight. Whilst not a mentoring service or a recurring training program, these meetings provide a direct way of understanding what an industry is like before entering it.

How does it work? One inducted and approved for volunteering. Industry Experts receive a Careers NSW email address they can use whilst volunteering with the program. Industry Experts regularly let us know their availability to volunteer. Potential client's express interest in meeting with an Industry Expert through Service NSW. Volunteering Central Coast will then match the client with an appropriate Industry Expert at a time that suits your availability. A confirmation email is sent to both the participant and the Industry Expert with an attached Zoom link. Then, it’s merely a matter of joining the online chatroom and having a wonderful conversation!



Interested in Being an Industry Expert?

To be a part of the Industry Expert program as an industry expert, it’s just a matter of signing up and going through the interview, orientation, and training process.

Sign up to our Industry Expert management system, Better Impact, to log your contact information. Volunteering Central Coast will then contact you to arrange a very brief phone interview to discuss your interests and what industries that you’ve worked in. A brief information session, conducted by Microsoft Teams, follows to talk through the project is about in more detail and to answer any questions that you may have.

If the role is right for you, a series of application forms are expected to be completed, including a paid Working with Children’s Check and a National Criminal History Check, to allow you access to the Department of Education resources and to gain a DoE email address. Both Volunteering Central Coast and Careers NSW will offer several training courses to ensure you are comfortable and confident in your role.

After a small induction into the Department of Education, you’ve become an Industry Expert! As simple as that.



Requirements

To be an Industry Expert, you must live in New South Wales. There is the requirement to have a minimum of five years working experience within the industry or sector that you wish to represent. You have may more than five years' experience working in general, but if you have not spent five years working in the specific sector you wish to be an Industry Expert in, you unfortunately do not meet the requirements. It is also expected that you are currently employed in the sector that you are representing, and if not, that you have been retired for less than 12 months.

You are required to have a paid Working with Children Check, and a National Criminal History Check will be conducted on each applicant. You will be reimbursed for the costs of your working with Children Check at the end of the induction process.

If you do not meet the requirements for the Industry Experts program, there are more other opportunities with Volunteering Central Coast. Please see the Our Services page for more of our programs.

How to Get Involved

If you would like to be an Industry Expert, please click the link below to begin the application process.

If you have any questions or are simply curious about the project, you’re welcome to email us at mentoring@volcc.org.au or to call us at (02) 4329 7122