Over the next three years, we will:
- Work with the secondary school system through the Department of Education and Training (DET) and linking with TAFEs to provide contemporary and relevant advice about occupations in demand, promoting vocational education and training as a pathway for senior secondary school students to secure successful careers.
- Work with industry representatives to articulate opportunities available for good jobs and long-term careers, especially as an industry digitises or adapts to climate change.
- Develop a tailored Skills for the Future forecast to inform the ongoing implementation of the senior secondary pathways reforms.
Victoria’s standing as the Education State, and the quality of its talent pool will be strengthened through reforms to improve access to, and the quality of, vocational and applied learning pathways in senior secondary schooling.
The Firth Review into vocational and applied learning pathways in senior secondary schooling (November 2020) recommended generational reforms, including the integration of academic, vocational and applied learning pathways in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), universal access to a core offering of VET pathways for secondary students, and improved support for School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships.
Together these reforms will ensure that all students have access to pathways that meet their strengths and interests, gain skills that align to their aspirations and get the jobs they want in Victoria’s growing economy. Importantly, over the next 30 years, school leavers will be the agents of action on climate change. Applied learning in senior secondary education will help prepare Victorians for these challenges and opportunities.
Starting from 2023, the Skills Plan will inform periodic updates to the core offering of priority VET pathways and certificates, to ensure that VET for secondary students remains aligned to growth areas and local industry needs. The VSA’s research and insights will also support career guidance in schools, ensuring that students and their families are aware of high-skill and emerging employment opportunities.
The skills and experiences acquired at school should set students up for success in vocational and higher education and the workplace. The VSA and government will work together to identify and minimise any barriers students may face in building on their school achievements.
Insights guide career exploration at secondary school
Strengthened approaches to vocational education for senior secondary students offers a new foundation for talent development for Victoria.
Success in school creates the base for people to participate and engage in the further education and training that helps prepare for work and entrepreneurship.
Ongoing analysis by the VSA will identify the trends in Victoria’s industry and services base and the core skills students need. The research and insights generated by the VSA will inform career exploration and decision making undertaken by students in schools.
The Head Start program gives senior secondary students more opportunities to build the skills they need for in-demand jobs of the future, giving them the chance to develop their skills with on-the-job training while completing their senior secondary education.
Head Start students spend more time doing important, paid, on-the-job training while completing their schooling.
Head Start has delivered over:
- 1,700 apprenticeships and traineeships in more than 150 secondary schools
- More than 1,400 small and large businesses have taken on a Head Start apprentice or trainee.
Case study
Van Sui Thawng and his family fled war-torn Myanmar and spent time in a Malaysian refugee camp before arriving in Melbourne. He heard about the Head Start program at school and went on to complete VCE while training for an electrical trade.
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