It broadens ideas and opens up possibilities.
- Kerrie McMillin
ENCOURAGING primary school children to think about their future professions may seem premature to some, but not to two Bendigo primary schools.
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Eaglehawk and Lightning Reef primary school students were building the final installments of cubby house they helped design and construct on Thursday, as part of the Passions & Pathways program.
The program pairs industry leaders with grade six students, who are taught new skills and exposed to the world of work.
Eaglehawk Primary School principal Kerrie McMillin said many of her students' parents were unemployed.
Many children had limited knowledge about what professions existed or what they involved, she said.
But providing them with practical, first-hand experiences of workplaces sparked ideas.
"It widens their world," she said.
"It broadens ideas and opens up possibilities.
"That concept of getting up every day for work ... is part of this project.
"They are new concepts in many ways.
"It's about those ideas and lifting their horizons."
She said the children had thoroughly enjoyed the project.
The children oversaw each stage of the cubby house's development, including its design, construction and the preparation of the site - a plot of land at Eaglehawk Primary School.
They used tools such as measuring rulers, hammers, saws and drills, being assisted by students from Bendigo TAFE.
"They're building something for our school," Ms McMillin said.
"They're showing the preps, 'we're doing this for you'.
"It gives them ownership."
Ms McMillin said industries across Bendigo had been supportive of the project, kindly donating their time to it.
Businesses involved in the project included Bendigo Truss Plant, Bendigo TAFE, the Bendigo Manufacturing Group, the Australian Turntable Company, the Goldfields Local Learning and Employment Network.