School to work transitions

There's a clear link between getting a Year 12 certificate (or equivalent qualification) and improved social and economic outcomes for young people. It's important to support students to make a successful transition from school to further education, training or work

Benefits of completing school

The Australian Government continues to work with state and territory governments to help young people complete school as well as continue their education and training beyond Year 12.

This helps to create a productive, skilled and knowledgeable future workforce.

A student that completes Year 12 or equivalent vocational training has a better chance of:

Completing further study or training
Getting a job
Being paid significantly higher wages
Being prepared for future challenges

Career Education

Career education is vital to help support students move from school to work or further study.

Career education:

Develops knowledge, skills and attitudes
Is a planned program of learning experiences in education
Helps students make informed decisions about their study and work options through training settings
Enables effective participation in working life

National Career Education Strategy

A National Career Education Strategy has been developed to prepare students for:

Life beyond school
Jobs of the future

The Future Ready Strategy is part of the Quality Schools Package, and was endorsed by the COAG Education Council in February 2019.

It was developed in consultation with:

Educators
Business and Industry
Career Education Groups

The vision of Future Ready is that every student in every school:

Has access to high quality career education
Makes informed decisions about future education and training pathways.

Future Ready is a practical framework to prepare students for the future of work for:

Governments
Schools
Industry
Career education providers

Projects that support the Strategy focus on:

Improving teacher and school leader capability
Supporting parents in their important role in career conversations
Encouraging collaboration between industry and schools

Additional resources

There are a number of resources that can help guide student career discussions including the:

Preparing Secondary School Students for Work Framework

The vision of the Preparing Secondary School Students for Work Framework is that vocational learning and VET is:

Seamlessly integrated into secondary schooling
Valued by parents, students, teachers and employers.

A series of practical tools and resources is hosted on myskills.gov.au to support schools and teachers in the provision of high quality career education and VET programs.

Resources include the:

VET self-assessment tools for schools
Career education self-assessment tool
Videos showcasing good practice of VET delivered to secondary students
Videos of Australian School-based Apprentices talking about their experiences.

The 4 principles of the framework are:

Clarity—of terminology, purpose and expected outcomes
Collaboration—to meet the needs of students, schools and employers
Confidence—in the quality, value and benefit of vocational learning and VET
Core systems—that are efficient, streamlined and support the needs of students and employers.

The Framework makes the clear distinction between vocational learning and VET delivered to secondary school students. It recognises that VET undertaken at school is the same as all other VET.

The framework was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments Education Council in 2014.

School and Industry collaboration

The Australian Government supports collaboration between schools, businesses and the community through:

Trade Training Centres in Schools Program: which provides students with a broader variety of options to help finish Year 12 or equivalent vocational training.
Partnerships for schools, businesses, and communities: a range of resources and advice to encourage and support the development of partnerships.