Background

In 1997 the atEAST schools completed an audit of their programs and determined that there was a group of students whose needs were not being satisfactorily met. After further evaluation it was decided to prepare an application for funding to the Department of Employment Education Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) in order to introduce part-time school based traineeships.

As a result the atEAST Consortium, along with several other groups, received a grant from Department of Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) to conduct a pilot program for the implementation of part-time School based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBATs). The atEAST SBAT program was quite unique and we believe it is the only school based program in Victoria which encompasses three days work in conjunction with VCE/VCAL and TAFE study.

One aim of the program is to enhance the employment and training opportunities for senior secondary students. Approximately 20% of the students in 1998 came from non atEAST schools (both government and non government) and from as far afield as Hastings, Altona and Brunswick, which clearly demonstrated the need for this type of program.

Currently Year 10 students have the option of joining the SBAT program as part of their Year 11 program in one of the following industries – automotive, engineering, furniture production, horticulture, hospitality, office administration, warehousing or panel beating. SBATs in other industries may be available upon request.

This program has been extremely successful and involves a partnership between the 7 atEAST schools, often with group training companies as the official employer and Registered Training Organisation (RTO) for some of the Off-the-Job training, Swinburne TAFE are the main RTOs for the remaining Off-the-Job training.