Page 1963 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 6 May 2009
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This year the ACT will be participating with the commonwealth in the development of a national partnership on youth attainment and transitions. This partnership will outline key reform strategies for achieving accelerated youth attainment targets, including pathways and partnerships, individual learning plans, personalised career advice and transition support, brokerage, mentoring and work experience. The national partnership will document agreed reforms to be implemented to ensure young people make a successful transition from school to work or further study and their long-term life choices.
The COAG initiatives and youth compact will support younger people during uncertain economic times and provide them with the opportunity to develop their skills for future employment prospects when the economic conditions begin to improve. Finally, I commend this motion to the Assembly and encourage all members here to support it.
MR DOSZPOT (Brindabella) (11.52): This is a timely motion that Ms Burch has raised, and we are in agreement with the need for concerted action to increase young people’s engagement with education and training pathways. It is crucial to seek the support of all stakeholders and the commitment to additional effort to tailor the delivery of services to maximise youth engagement.
There is no argument that ACT students need to be afforded every opportunity to compete in the job market, given the current economic climate. Keeping our young people in some form of skill-based or vocational training is an important way that ACT students are given a head start. It is encouraging that the ACT has the highest year 12 participation level, at 90 per cent, and we welcome the new target of 95 per cent participation level.
We must acknowledge, however, that staying in mainstream schools until year 12 and the option of going to university does not suit everyone. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. If all students stayed in school until 17 years of age, what additional burdens would be placed on our educational institutions? Would there be enough teachers, administrators and infrastructure to cope with the estimated 1,000 additional students who would be thus retained in the system?
Just using the infrastructure example of the recently completed and opened new Kingsford Smith superschool—and I do understand the difference, Mr Barr, before you jump down my throat on this one—I understand the infrastructure is already found to be wanting. With the school nowhere near full capacity, it is already short of adequate facilities for teachers. The staffroom cannot accommodate all the teachers now. How will it cope when the school is operating at maximum level? I also understand the same example applies to the school hall, which cannot hold all the current students, let alone the increase in students that is expected to come to the school.
Another question to address is: how will the local economy be affected if the majority of 15 and 16-year-olds who typically would become new apprentices in various trades no longer enter the workforce? Apprenticeships are generally a career choice for those
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