Around 1,000 young people in Australia are diagnosed with cancer each year. Of young cancer patients surveyed by Canteen, less than half have high confidence of achieving their education goals and even fewer – less than a third – have high confidence of achieving their employment goals. We want to change that.
Cancer treatment can cause significant disruptions to young people’s education or career which in turn have potentially long-lasting impacts on their social and emotional wellbeing.
The Education and Career Service (ECS) helps young cancer patients aged 12 - 25 stay connected to study or work both during and after their cancer treatment. It’s a strength-based service that helps young cancer patients identify their vocational goals and values, followed by individualised support plans to help them achieve their education or career milestones.
ECS support is currently delivered one-to-one and can be run in person, over the phone or via video conference. Group-based sessions are due to be run in the near future. Young people can use the service at the point of diagnosis, during treatment as well as after treatment as they transition back into work or study.
Canteen’s Career consultants can help with:
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keeping up with or taking a break from work or study
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job readiness skills such as finding work, writing a resume and job interview preparation.
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reassessing study and/or career aspirations
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helping young people make informed decisions when it comes to finding a meaningful career.
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empowering young people to engage in professional development and lifelong learning.
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using self-exploration/reflection to enable skills and strengths identification.
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providing up-to-date labour market information and assisting in developing future-proof career pathways.
ECS has also launched the ‘Career Launchpad’ workshop series for 2024. There are four digital workshops open to all Canteen young people. These workshops will cover a range of career development learning topics, equipping participants with valuable insights into careers and employability.
ECS is available to all 12-25 year old cancer patients and survivors, regardless of when they were diagnosed. Last year, around 300 young patients were supported through the ECS - find out more about Canteen’s evaluation of the service.