Key Concepts

  • Introduction to the concept of a CV, why it is important, and how to complete a basic one based on their experience so far. 
  • An understanding of the different career options available.
  • The concept of student loans and the debt incurred. 
  • Applying for a job and receiving a weekly pay slip.  

How It Works

1. Initial Quiz

Students will start with the Careers Quiz, earning rewards for correct answers. 

2. Creating a CV

Students will start by crafting their CV, which can be based on their real-life experiences or aspirations. This activity helps them:

  • Reflect on their skills and accomplishments.
  • Prepare for the job application process.

If students already have or have had a job, they can use real information; otherwise, they can create a CV imagining a future career path.

3. Exploring Career Options

  • Students will have the opportunity to view the Banqer job market, which includes a range of career options. Some of those career options include a student loan. 
  • Students will need to evaluate whether the debt incurred from a student loan is worthwhile for their chosen career path.
  • This often sparks engaging classroom discussions about the value of higher education and financial trade-offs.
  • If a student chooses a career with a student loan, and they later decide to change career, they are still required to pay back that student loan. 

4. Applying for Jobs

Once their CV is complete, students can explore a range of entry-level job opportunities.

Key features:

  • A broad selection of careers is available, designed to inspire discussions about different industries and career paths.
  • Students must write a personal statement as part of the application process, helping them practice written communication and self-expression.

Each job listing shows the career progression path, including:

  • Salary increases at each stage.
  • Estimated time to progress to the next level.
  • Students will encounter regular check in quiz questions when they check in for their job. These questions will relate to the career path they have chosen, so it is a good idea for the students to think about which area they might have a genuine interest in, to allow the check in questions to be more relevant to them. 

5. Student Loans

Some of the careers in Banqer have a student loan associated with them, and some don't. 

This is a valuable area to learn about as students may be starting to consider further study after high school, and many will likely have to consider taking out a student loan.

If any of your students decide that they don't want to continue in their chosen career due to the student loan debt, they can change careers, however the student loan debt will remain with them to pay back, much like in real life! 

6. Career Progression

Career progression is tied to tokens, which students earn by checking into their jobs regularly. Each day that they check in they will earn tokens, the number of which will differ from job to job. 

Students will be asked a careers related question each time they check in, related to either the career path they have chosen, or working generally.

  • Daily Check-ins: The more often students check in, the faster they progress.
  • Streaks: Students who check in every day will earn streak bonuses, gaining extra tokens.

While students will still receive their pay even if they don’t check in, they won’t be able to advance in their career without consistent participation.

Once they have earned enough tokens, they will be automatically promoted to the next level of their career, and their weekly salary will increase. 

If students leave a job to start a new career path, they will lose the tokens they have earned so far and start again at the beginning of their new career. 

7. Payday and Pay slips

Students will receive their pay every Friday, providing a moment of excitement as they log in to review their weekly pay slips. These pay slips detail:

  • Their earnings.
  • Any deductions, such as taxes or superannuation contributions (if applicable).

Teacher Tools

Careers Overview: Within the Careers Expansion area you will have a Careers Overview table. This will show you all students, and their status of employment, whether they have created their CV, their current salary, and any loan balance. You can also view the students CV from here too. 

Careers Market: From the Careers Expansion area, you have a full view of the Careers Market that your students will see, allowing you to review all options ahead of working with your students on this area. 

Check-in table: From the same area within the Careers Expansion section, you will have a view of check-ins for the week, showing you which students have checked in that week, and how often. 

CV downloads: Students can download an editable or a PDF copy of their CV. As a teacher, you can also do this, either via the Careers Overview section mentioned above when you view a CV. 

See guide at the end of this article for a visual step through of these areas. 

Lesson Support

To help guide your class through this expansion, a comprehensive Lesson Plan is available, including:

  • Step-by-step instructions.
  • Linked worksheets for in-class activities.
  • Vocabulary builders to introduce key financial terms.

  • Discussion ideas to promote classroom engagement and critical thinking.

  • For information on how to enable expansions and access these resources, please see the related article here.