How do we prepare music students for sustainable, professional careers?
In this session, Dr Diana Tolmie, Senior Lecturer in Professional Practice at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, shares how employability and career readiness are embedded into the Bachelor of Music through the My Life as a Musician course.
Dr Tolmie walks through two scaffolded first‑year assessments designed to help students understand what it means to be a professional musician — intellectually, creatively, financially, and personally. Using PebblePad, students explore vocational identity, opportunity recognition, digital literacy, resilience, networking, and lifelong learning through reflective and practice‑based assessment tasks.
Key topics covered include:
- Helping students articulate their values, motivations, and career aspirations
- Using digital storytelling to develop professional identity and communication skills
- Learning from the lived experiences of professional musicians
- Opportunity recognition and navigating non‑linear creative careers
- Developing artistic citizenship, ethics, and employability confidence
This session is a PebblePad exemplar and offers valuable insight for educators designing authentic, career‑focused assessment in creative arts and higher education. This was filmed at Brisbane 2022 MiniBash.