Strengthening a partnership more than decade long

Please tell us a little bit about your school or organisation. What's its history, mission, and goals?

Killester College, established in 1955 by the Brigidine Sisters, is a Catholic Secondary School for girls located in Springvale, Victoria. Guided by the motto “Strength and Kindliness,” the school is part of Kildare Education Ministries and is committed to nurturing compassionate, courageous, and capable young women. Killester offers a broad and inclusive curriculum including VCE, VET, and applied learning pathways, with a strong focus on academic growth, wellbeing, and social justice.

The school embraces the Brigidine values of wonder, courage, hope, hospitality, compassion, and justice, and celebrates the rich cultural diversity of its community. Killester’s mission is to provide adynamic and supportive learning environment where students feel safe, respected, and inspired to achieve their personal best. Killester prepares students to thrive in a complex, changing world. It is a place where student voice is valued, individual strengths are celebrated, and relationships are central to learning and growth.

What was the background to your involvement with Morrisby?

The Killester College Careers Team have over 10 years of  experience using Morrisby Profiling as part of Careers and Pathways programs  in various settings.  Hundreds of students have been guided through the  process of completing the testing and then understanding, interpreting and  analysing their results in group and personalised individual settings. The  Killester College Career Practitioners have additional experience in academic  research on the Morrisby Profile tool enabling them to combine practical  experience with a solid understanding of how the tool supports student  decision-making.

What role does Morrisby play in assisting you to provide an engaging, evidence-based, and information careers education plan?

The Morrisby Profile plays a key role in supporting the delivery of an engaging, evidence-based, and informative careers education program at Killester. It provides students with a personalised profile based on their abilities, interests, and preferences, which helps them better understand themselves and explore a range of suitable career and study options. By using reliable data from the Morrisby assessment, students receive tailored career conversations and planning sessions to suit their unique strengths and goals.

The platform also encourages student engagement by making career exploration interactive and meaningful, while giving parents and educators clear insights to support decision-making around subject selection and post-school pathways. The Profile itself is an integral part of the Careers Education Program with many related classroom activities and programs focussed on this both in the lead up to and after completing the assessment.

How does the Morrisby Vocational Assessment tool complement other career exploration activities and resources available at your school or organisation?

In a College that offers many and varied educational  pathways for students, the Morrisby Vocational Assessment tool provides a  valuable foundation for personalised career exploration. It helps students  gain insight into their strengths, interests, and aptitudes, which in turn  enhances the relevance and impact of other career education activities such  as subject selection counselling, work experience planning, and attendance at  career expos.

There is a significant focus on career exploration and investigating  the unknown pathway opportunities via industry workshops and student  placements and the data from Morrisby supports meaningful one-on-one  conversations, goal-setting, and the development of career action plans to  formulate a big picture view. It also complements resources and programs like  Work Experience, 'Dare to Dream week', MyFuture, the Jump Start program, course guides, and employer engagement by helping students make clearer  connections between their profile and real-world opportunities.  

          “Having used Morrisby for over 10 years, including exploring its effectiveness through academic research, I have no doubt about its value in educational settings. It consistently provides meaningful insights that support students in making informed, personalised decisions about their future.”

            Loretta McKail, Careers Teacher

What aspects of Morrisby do you utilise and why? (Morrisby Careers, Morrisby Profile, functions of Activities/Destinations)

At Killester College, students complete the Morrisby Profile in Year 10 as a key part of their career exploration journey. The profile provides valuable insights into their strengths, interests, and preferences, which form the basis for personalised subject selection advice and future pathway planning. The College is currently in the process of expanding the use of the Morrisby Careers platform to include the in-built lessons, activities, and tracker functions. This will support the creation of a comprehensive and engaging careers portfolio for each student.

As students participate in additional programs such as 'Jump Start', 'A Day in Her Boots', and 'Dare to Dream', these experiences will be documented within the platform, helping to build an individualised and ongoing Career Action Plan. This integrated approach allows students to track their progress, reflect on their experiences, and make more informed decisions as they move through their senior years and prepare for life beyond school.

How would you rate the platform in terms of ease-of-use?

The Morrisby platform is overall easy to use and offers  strong functionality in terms of running key reports, aligning career  education activities, and providing personalised career and subject  suggestions. The layout is intuitive, and the features support meaningful  career conversations and planning. However, the current version lacks  detailed Australian job market and labour market insights, which limits its  local relevance. Having seen the more comprehensive labour market data available on the UK site, there is hope that similar functionality will be expanded for Australian users.

Incorporating the Skills Builder framework  would also enhance the individual career profiling experience by adding a valuable dimension focused on skill development. While the platform itself is user-friendly, it does represent an additional system for schools to manage, so careful planning is needed to ensure it integrates well with existing databases and doesn’t create unnecessary duplication.

Please describe a scenario in which you found Morrisby beneficial. Whether this be fora student, parent or guardian, or broader faculty staff.

Itis always rewarding when a student in Year 12 or an alumni returns with career questions. Encouraging them to go back to their Morrisby Profile and re-take some of the questionnaires has usually proved to be quite beneficial. It's rewarding when this happens as it's been a sequential program of career development and education over the years rather than careers education being one off events or experiences.