Page 2568 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 23 August 2006
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in the child and family centres in Gungahlin and Tuggeranong. By providing integrated education, health and family support services there is a greater opportunity for early identification of learning needs, intervention and prevention to enable students to achieve their full potential.
The proposed inquiry would look into linkages and cooperation between the vocational education and training sector and education sectors. The ACT Department of Education and Training and the Canberra Institute of Technology already work collaboratively to develop innovative strategies that seek to promote relationships between the ACT school sector and the CIT. Transition arrangements, joint professional development activities and ongoing information exchanges are examples of the ways in which DET and the CIT are building robust partnerships and pathways between the sectors. The CIT central programs provide expanded opportunities for both college and high school students to study courses not available at their primary college. These programs contribute to the students’ year 10 and 12 certificate and may lead to further studies and pathways to college, CIT and/or their chosen vocation.
The Department of Education and Training workplaces program is responsible for organising work experience and vocational placements for government colleges, high schools and special schools. Work experience placements are short-term, unpaid participation in the workplace. The purpose is to provide guidance for students in the transition from school to working life. Vocational placements are undertaken by years 11 and 12 students and involve structured training and competency-based assessment which occurs in the workplace. The ACT work placements administrator, located in the Department of Education and Training, works with the student to industry program in the organisation of vocational placements. The work placement administrator offers a “central placement” service for those host employers who do not wish to be approached directly by the students and the schools. This service enables placements to be organised directly between the WPA and the host employer. A total of 3,837 placements were so arranged in 2005.
The motion further proposes that the inquiry would look into linkages and cooperation between the higher education sector and education sectors. In May this year, as I am sure the opposition is aware, the ANU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chubb, and I launched the ANU secondary college, which will give students and their college teachers access to the resources and skills of Australia’s pre-eminent research university. Some of Canberra’s most academically able secondary college students are able to study courses that will count towards their future university qualifications, thanks to a partnership between the ACT government and the Australian National University. In 2006 these fields are mathematics, chemistry and physics. If the demand is there we hope to expand into other disciplines in future years for future students. Mr Deputy Speaker, I could go on with a host of examples of how the government is working together with education providers and with the broader community to ensure that our students are provided with greater choice and diversity through the provision of high quality learning environments and opportunities.
The opposition really do need to stop creating these delaying tactics that will lead only to long periods of instability and uncertainty for the Canberra community. They need to genuinely engage in the process with the government and the community and consider the opportunities in our Towards 2020: renewing our schools proposal. It is clear that the
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