Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Focus on SKILLS not just university

The Government will urge more students to undertake school based apprenticeships and move away from encouraging all high school students to aim for university.

Assistant Education Minister Sussan Ley said the number of people achieving formal trade qualifications was far too low. In a speech to TAFE DIrectors on 5th March 2014, she said careers advisers should be encouraging more students to take on school based apprenticeships.

“We’ve seen a reduction in traditional occupations of manufacturing or labouring and a shift towards a more service-based economy, with a corresponding move away from trades and skills in favour of university qualifications.

The current skills shortages in industries such as construction and telecommunications make it clear this trend has gone too far.  But in the past four years, there’s also been a dramatic increase in the number of young people staying on at school until they are 17. This has significant implications for schools.

Given that 40% of 2012 school leavers went on to study at university in 2013, schools need to cater to a proportion of young people who are staying in school, but not necessarily planning a university future. 

Schools must provide a high quality vocational pathway that engages students and prepares them to take on the high-skill and high earning roles our economy demands”.

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