myfuture turns 10!
In 2012, myfuture is celebrating 10 years of service to the Australian community. Over the past 10 years, hundreds of thousands of users have accessed a growing range of career development information, developed their profiles, explored career ideas and created a career plan. The team at myfuture would like to thank all valued users who have helped build the service into a vital national career information resource.
The national career service is born
In 1999, the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) now DEEWR, commissioned a feasibility study for a National Career Information System (NCIS).
In 2000, The Ministerial Council on Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) approved the development and implementation of the NCIS, later formally named myfuture. education.au limited was contracted to develop and implement this internet-based ‘one stop shop’ for career and employment information.
myfuture.edu.au was officially launched in July 2002. The initiative was embraced nationally as it aimed to reduce duplication and maximise resource use in the career sphere. It soon became a leading example of how to utilise information technology to improve access and information for the benefit of students and career changers across the country.
myfuture was developed based upon current career philosophies and theory to guarantee its relevance and applicability in an ever changing world of work. A paper was commissioned called Career…more than just a job, written by Dr Mary McMahon and Peter Tatham, highlighting the complexities of career development in the modern world. Its premise was based on the notion that all aspects of an individual’s life inform and are part of their career, and gone were the days of a job for life.
Some Career Highlights
In 2003, myfuture was highly commended as an ‘outstanding Australian national service’ at the Institute of Public Administration Australia, Prime Minister’s Awards.
In 2008, myfuture was awarded ‘Best government site’ in the NetGuide Web Awards. myfuture also underwent a significant redesign of the homepage and navigation to assist greater usability of the site.
During 2009 and 2010, the most substantial enhancements program, since the launch of the site in July 2002, was delivered by Education Services Australia (formerly education.au). This included the launch of My Guide 2.0, the implementation of a new and contemporary 'look and feel', improved navigation as well as virtual tours and activities to orientate first time visitors, such as the mini career explorer.
Myfuture has always been committed to meet the changing needs of its users and the homepages shown here demonstrate the site's evolution over the last 10 years.
Get the facts about myfuture
- Over 620 national occupation descriptions, including over 140 videos
- Over 800 industry sector descriptions
- More than 1,300 industry, occupational and employer association contact details
- Over 18,000 courses
- More than 1,800 education and training providers in over 400 locations
- Over 4,200 scholarships offered by over 400 organisations
- 208 labour market profiles.
A snapshot of success
- Increased site traffic each year; with over 19,500,000 page views in 2011!
- Over 135,000 My Guide users who accessed the site during 2011
- Incorporation of new technologies such as Second Life, Facebook and Twitter
- New resources such as interactive learning objects, audio casts, videos and virtual tours
- The myfuture video competition which attracted over 90 video entries in 2011.
What's next for myfuture?
- A mobile version of myfuture, to be launched later this year
- A new careers event calendar.
