One reason the uptake of apprenticeships by New Zealand school leavers is so low is a cultural narrative that holds university education in much higher esteem than training for a trade.
The University Entrance qualification illuminates the way to university, but there is no qualification to do the same for trades. The senior school curriculum is likewise geared to the university pathway. That simply does not work for many students.
Last week, I visited six Busy Schools campuses in Brisbane. Busy Schools is a not-for-profit organisation that caters to young people who have disengaged from mainstream education. Many come from troubled backgrounds. Some are homeless. Some simply found themselves aimless and unmotivated in their previous schools.
The University Entrance qualification illuminates the way to university, but there is no qualification to do the same for trades. The senior school curriculum is likewise geared to the university pathway. That simply does not work for many students.
Last week, I visited six Busy Schools campuses in Brisbane. Busy Schools is a not-for-profit organisation that caters to young people who have disengaged from mainstream education. Many come from troubled backgrounds. Some are homeless. Some simply found themselves aimless and unmotivated in their previous schools.
Busy Schools aims to make its students employable when they leave school. They emphasise pathways into apprenticeships. Both State and Federal Government provide funding.
Students start by completing work-readiness education while undertaking a half-time school curriculum. Employment Pathways Advisors then find them internships in local businesses. From there, they spend two days per week at school and two in the workplace.
Initially, internships are unpaid, but when students have proven themselves, many secure paid part-time apprenticeships, which they complete fulltime after leaving school. While still at school, apprentices also attend tertiary training institutions one day per week.
The Busy School model meets students where they are and shows them possibilities they never knew existed. It then prepares and supports them to make the most of their newfound opportunities.
New Zealand could benefit from a similar model. The charter schools initiative to be launched in 2025 is one possible avenue. However, there is nothing to stop mainstream schools from adopting similar approaches. A Certificate of Trades Preparation would also be a welcome addition to our school qualifications system.
A forthcoming report for The New Zealand Initiative will make proposals for a more coherent focus on apprenticeships in our senior secondary schools. Such a focus would benefit our economy. More importantly, it would offer purpose and opportunity to students who are not motivated by or cut out for academic study.
Dr Michael Johnston has held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington for the past ten years. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne. This article was published HERE
Students start by completing work-readiness education while undertaking a half-time school curriculum. Employment Pathways Advisors then find them internships in local businesses. From there, they spend two days per week at school and two in the workplace.
Initially, internships are unpaid, but when students have proven themselves, many secure paid part-time apprenticeships, which they complete fulltime after leaving school. While still at school, apprentices also attend tertiary training institutions one day per week.
The Busy School model meets students where they are and shows them possibilities they never knew existed. It then prepares and supports them to make the most of their newfound opportunities.
New Zealand could benefit from a similar model. The charter schools initiative to be launched in 2025 is one possible avenue. However, there is nothing to stop mainstream schools from adopting similar approaches. A Certificate of Trades Preparation would also be a welcome addition to our school qualifications system.
A forthcoming report for The New Zealand Initiative will make proposals for a more coherent focus on apprenticeships in our senior secondary schools. Such a focus would benefit our economy. More importantly, it would offer purpose and opportunity to students who are not motivated by or cut out for academic study.
Dr Michael Johnston has held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington for the past ten years. He holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne. This article was published HERE
3 comments:
Having a suspicious mind I do wonder what the current progressives in education actually intended with their destructive impractical agenda.
Teaching methods that are ineffective , stating always they were pragmatic and child centered yet the end result has been too many unemployable young people lacking in basic academic skills or a work ethic.
As mentioned before my hairdresser was 'pulling his hair out' because the young hairdressers eg couldn't work out 1/4 of 20mls when preparing dye mixtures.
When are we going to return to what we used to have in the 60s- Technical Colleges ? Why were they disbanded ? From recent news in MSM there are far to many youth at Universities and graduating in subjects like Fashion and Design , a technical course , for which there are very few jobs .
Progressive education needs to be seen for what it is -indoctrination into Marxism at all levels and quite impractical and ineffective in providing grounding in worthwhile careers in all areas. There needs to be an educational revolution to get us back to traditional values and methods which happen to coincide with recent research.
You really have to start again with education for technical subjects.
Schools used to have metal work and wood work shops. The young person learned about tools and materials. Machining took place at technical institutes and the apprenticeship based people did further studies to earn a degree whilst doing the apprenticeship.
The schools got rid of the metal work and wood working shops because of cost and liability issues.
Imagine what would happen if a student cut his finger with a chisel.
Work safe would make everyone’s life a misery.
You can’t magic technically competent people from your backside, they have to be trained over decades.
There is a good distinction being made here between academic and trades-oriented education. But there is a third one that receives a lot of attention in Western European and some Asian countries: technical education (as opposed to vocational). Technical colleges in some countries have been upgraded to Technical Universities, e.g. Germany. NZ leads to have a good look at these systems and learn from them.
Post a Comment