Tasmania’s young people need to learn as much as they can to make the most of life’s opportunities. In turn, Tasmania needs our young people to continue learning to maximise the quality of the social, cultural and economic life of our state.
This is the focus of Guaranteeing Futures, one of the four elements of Tasmania: A State of Learning, the state’s first strategy for post-Year 10 education and training, launched in December 2003.
Guaranteeing Futures, sets out the vision, purposes and values to guide post-Year 10 education and training in the coming years. It aims to assist young people to plan, prepare and make informed choices about their post-school destinations.
The aim of Guaranteeing Futures is to ensure that young Tasmanians participate in education and training beyond Year 10. To support this, the Youth Participation in Education and Training (Guaranteeing Futures) Act 2005 was passed in April.
The Act, which will be enacted in 2007 and 2008, will require most young Tasmanians to select from a variety of options for education and training that they will participate in at least until they have turned 17 or achieved a certificate III vocational qualification. The pathway planning process being implemented from Year 8 in 2005 will ensure that young people select participation options that will personally engage and reward their efforts in continuing education.
For students who are identified as being at risk of disengaging from education and training, special strategies are being introduced. In this area the youth learning officer (YLO) network has been highly successful. YLOs work intensively with these students, helping them make post-Year 10 destination choices. They also assist students to identify and address barriers that may prevent them from achieving their post-Year 10 goals.
In 2004, 268 Year 10 government school students were identified as being at risk of not continuing with education, training or employment. YLOs began working with these students at the beginning of Term 2 of that year to identify their skills, strengths and interests. The YLOs continued to work with these students over the next 12 months, exploring future options and providing support when they started college, vocational education and training or in finding work.
Of the students receiving YLO support, 73% proceeded to further education or employment, with 146 now in Year 11, 21 at TAFE and 43 employed. The value of the intensive, one-to-one support provided for these students is clear.
As additional strategies are implemented as part of Guaranteeing Futures every young Tasmanian will ultimately be supported as they move through their schooling into pathways that provide them with the best opportunities for the future.
Guaranteeing Futures