ST Peter Claver College, Riverview, has partnered with the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) to develop a toolkit that will be used as a national careers’ education resource in schools across Australia.
As part of the National Career Education Strategy, FYA sought recommendations on best practice programs from the Catholic sector.
They were particularly interested in finding schools that had pioneered strong school-industry collaborations to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the future of work.
St Peter Claver's vocational learning program was recognised as innovative, courageous and produced excellent outcomes for students, and was the only Catholic school in Australia to contribute.
FYA was keen to understand how successful programs were developed and run, and why they had been so powerful from the perspective of students and teachers.
They engaged with the college through a co-design process, including online surveys with students, phone interviews with staff and in-school workshops with students.
FYA’s Head of Research, Alex Snow, said the toolkits were designed to smooth the transition from education to work for young people.
“The toolkit has been developed using insights from FYA's research as well as best practice examples from innovators in industry-supported career education across the country,” he said.
FYA representatives Stephanie Guy and Kelly Fawcett attended the college’s annual Partnership Breakfast to launch the new careers toolkit.
St Peter Claver’s Head of Vocational Education & Training and Careers, Kristal Meekings, said it was fantastic to be able to share the launch of the toolkit with the college's industry partners.
Ms Meekings said the breakfast was an opportunity for the college to thank already successful industry partners.
She said the college was already helping students develop their enterprise and career management skills, improve their networks upon leaving school and have a better understanding of career pathways into the new world of work.
“It was an opportunity for our industry partners to share their stories and provide advice on the future of work which supports the work we have done to co-design resources with the FYA,”
Ms Meekings said the new toolkit resources would not only support students but also encourage industry to work alongside schools and create new partnerships.
She said working with FYA was such a rewarding experience.
“We are both passionate about creating excellent outcomes and opportunities for young people by introducing innovative ways of working and partnerships to do this.
“We are excited to use these resources to further develop our work-integrated learning to inspire students to be changemakers, by focusing on 21st Century skills,” she said.