Indigenous-Education-Review_DRAFT
Indigenous-Education-Review_DRAFT
Indigenous-Education-Review_DRAFT
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<strong>Review</strong> of <strong>Indigenous</strong> <strong>Education</strong> in the Northern Territory<br />
Bruce Wilson<br />
significant number of remote communities many students have restricted exposure to concepts of work.<br />
In regional towns the situation is similar for a significant but smaller percentage of <strong>Indigenous</strong> students.<br />
Addressing this issue is the core element of changing the pathway from further dysfunction and<br />
disadvantage.<br />
The Employment Pathways model is easily understood by students allowing them to envisage their<br />
preferred future. With post schooling employment focus at its core, the Employment Pathways model<br />
provides the student with an underlying reason to attend school and offers a clear pathway through<br />
school to a job, thus answering the question ‘Why come?’, supporting sustained engagement.<br />
The Employment Pathways model uses VET as its main tool and introduces VET in various stages. It<br />
subsequently engages the student increasingly in the work place to validate the career choice and to<br />
maintain a consistent increase in employability skills acquisition. This prepares the student effectively for<br />
their life after school. The model unfolds in stages:<br />
Years 7 and 8<br />
Year 9<br />
Years 10–12<br />
Students engage in a pre‐VET program, introducing them to the world of work. This<br />
can be supported by online resources and should include engagement with role<br />
models who are in jobs. It requires students to undertake excursions to work places<br />
and interact with employers.<br />
Introduce the first formal VET Certificate programs in a broad‐based course<br />
relevant to local employment circumstance (eg: Resources and Infrastructure in a<br />
mining area). Introduce job work placement and simulated placement.<br />
To ensure that students gain the additional skills required by employers that are<br />
not obtainable under Certificate programs, JobSkills funding is used to boost<br />
student achievement and skills acquisition. This grants‐based funding provides<br />
support for short‐term one‐off courses such as white card and first aid skills.<br />
<strong>DRAFT</strong><br />
Introduce the Certificate II level programs with the Stage One compulsory subjects,<br />
also Stage One and Stage Two VET focused subjects to complete the student’s<br />
pattern.<br />
Alternatively, once the compulsory subjects have been achieved the student can be focused on a strong<br />
Certificate II outcome then in Year 12 move to a School Based Apprenticeship at a Certificate III level.<br />
The attainment of a Certificate III will, in most cases, count towards Stage Two equivalents and therefore<br />
can be used to fulfil the remaining elements of a student’s pattern.<br />
In both cases on‐the‐job placement needs to increase during this phase to allow the student to obtain<br />
skills to enable authentic engagement. IEEP have also introduced what has been referred to as ‘finishing<br />
schools’ where students can bring all their learned skills together in an authentic environment. This is<br />
currently achieved through training focussed stations owned by the <strong>Indigenous</strong> Land Corporation or<br />
managed through an Aboriginal Land Trust. A ‘practice’ mine would be another useful example of a<br />
‘finishing school’. JobSkills will again provide additional complex one‐off training programs to enhance<br />
employability skills.<br />
The Employment Pathways model is dependent on effective delivery of VET in a school program.<br />
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