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New England North West Group Training (NENWGT) has partnered with a prestigious secondary school to develop a successful School Based Trainee and Apprenticeship program.
New England North West Group Training Regional Manager Graham Grant said the program at The Armidale School (TAS) was providing students with an alternative pathway to work and industry, allowing students to study for their HSC while commencing a traineeship or apprenticeship. Students are placed with an employer in their paricular vocation or trade of interest, normally working one day a week with the employer. "on the days the students are at school they attend normal classes such as English and Maths," Mr Grant said. "The key to the success of the program for th students is that while still at school they can gain a Certificate II or III in their VET subject and complete one year of their traineeship or apprenticeship."
At TAS the students are under a Master of Apprentices, Mr Brett Monley, who also supervises the students working on a horticultural project within the school. Mr Monley said the boys work on a program of a full days work with the horticultural project on Mondays, and work with their employer on Wednesday. For the remainder of the week the students participate in classes and VET studies. Mr Monley said the program was developing excellent work ethics and personal discipline that employers are looking for in young people. The program has been so successful that TAS is working with NENWGT to expand it in the coming year. Mr Grant said the program had impressed other schools. "Armidale is a centre of learning, and schools in the region are on the look out for initiatives that can be beneficial to their students, " Mr Grant said.
"In 2009 we could have the program operating in four private schools in the city. " The model in place is working well and I would expect to see it expand quite quickly. " TAS Vocational Education coorodinator careers advisor Trevor Trhatcher said the school was very grateful to the Northern Tablelands Industry and Education Partnership (NTIEP) in the support it has shown to the program and the provision of funding to allow the program to get underway. He said 11 boys are inrolled in the program in Year 11 in 2008.
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