School to Work
Group Training and School to Work
- Group Training and School to Work: A blueprint for the future
- A Spotlight on Valuable Practice
- What about the idea of young apprenticeship ambassadors?
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n 2003/2004 Group Training Australia commenced a major project funded by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). It was designed to assist schools and group training organisations (GTOs) to collaborate more effectively in order to retain young people in learning and improve their transition from school to work, or further education and training. The project was completed in December 2005.
Through the Ministerial Council for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA), governments around Australia have signalled their determination to ensure that all students make an effective transition from school, particularly when there is evidence that too many school leavers do not undertake further education or training and are only marginally attached to the labour market, if at all. Quite apart from the loss of personal opportunity this represents, the situation will become increasingly intolerable as Australia’s demographic changes lead to chronic skills and labour shortages.
The intentions of governments are embodied in the objectives of a number of documents including the Framework on Vocational Education in Schools and the Career and Transition Services Framework. These objectives are expected to be implemented through partnerships and other collaborative arrangements involving schools, government, community organisations and industry, including group training organisations. Broadly speaking, the objectives can be categorised as follows:
- Vocational Education and Training – appropriately accredited industry-specific training based on qualifications and competencies endorsed within the National Training Framework
- Enterprise and Vocational Learning – enterprise and vocational perspectives incorporated into general learning that is appropriate for all years of schooling.
- Student Support Services – services that guide and support young people in their transition from compulsory schooling to post-compulsory schooling options and post-school destinations.
Recognising that the group training network might need assistance to position itself better in relation to the MCEETYA agenda, GTA has developed the following two publications based on research involving over 70 GTOs. Both of these publications are available free of charge from GTA – contact Monica Searle on 02 9299 6099.
- Group Training and School to Work: A blueprint for the future - The Blueprint records and suggests ways in which GTOs can make their contribution to the policy agenda and frameworks regarding transition support and the retention of young people in learning; whether that learning occurs at school, college and/or the workplace.
- World Class Standards through Partnerships with Schools - a diagnostic or self-assessment tool for GTO leadership teams to assess and improve their performance in partnering with schools.
By the end of the project in December 2005, over 60 workshops were conducted with group training organisations across Australia using the diagnostic tool mentioned above.
The feedback form this exercise has been overwhelmingly positive with a number of leadership teams indicating that their workshop has caused them to reconsider their approach to schools and to reflect the new thinking in their GTO’s strategic plan.
As the workshops have been conducted, further examples of leading practice in group training engagement with schools have come to light and these have been documented by the workshop facilitator under the title A Spotlight on Valuable Practice, available by clicking on the title.
You might find it useful to explore some of these initiatives in more detail. Contact details have been provided with each example to assist you to do this.
In 2006, as part of Today's Skills: Tomorrow's Leaders, GTA's annual leadership program for outstanding apprentices and trainees, the participants were asked to consider the value of a GTA Young Apprenticeship Ambassadors initiative. In a highly interactive 1.5 hour session, they explored the possible role of the ambassador, in particular how they could help Group Training Organisations (GTO) work with schools. The results of that workshop have been documented in the report What about the idea of young apprenticeship ambassadors? which provides a range of ideas for GTOs that have an interest in implementing such an initiative with their own apprentices.
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