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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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