Graduate Training Program for Psychology Majors
Do you want to work as a school counsellor in NSW public schools?
Our school counsellors provide valuable support for students and are an integral part of the schools' welfare team, working closely with students, parents and others teachers across primary and secondary schools. They normally work with students from preschool to Year 12 providing counselling and psychological assessment to students with specific needs.
As a graduate with teaching qualifications and an approved psychology major, you may further maximise your employment opportunities by participating in the Department's Graduate Training Program.
Under the program, you will be engaged as a full-time temporary teacher to gain two years teaching experience before entering the school counsellor retraining program. Following successful completion of the retraining program, you will be appointed as a qualified full-time school counsellor in NSW public schools.
You can choose to complete the teaching and retraining components in the metropolitan area or in the country. It is also possible to elect a metropolitan area for the teaching component and a rural area for the retraining component and vice versa.
As a Graduate Training Program participant, you will receive:
- full-time teacher salary and leave conditions
- payment of university fees associated with retraining
- reimbursement of travel, accommodation and meal costs to attend compulsory university course components for rural based teachers undertaking the school counsellor retraining program
- a general purpose allowance to assist with technology support, printing and textbooks.
To be considered for selection for this program, you must:
- have teaching qualifications and an approved psychology major at credit average or better completed within the last ten years
- accept an appointment to a full-time teaching position for two years and then enter the school counsellor retraining program
- agree to work in an area of staffing need in metropolitan or rural NSW
- hold a current NSW drivers licence.
You can find more information about the program here. You can also contact the Retraining Unit on 1300 300 634 or email retraining.teachers@det.nsw.edu.au for further details about becoming a school counsellor.
