Secondary Tertiary Transitions

Secondary Tertiary Transitions

The massive challenge of the transition between senior secondary school and tertiary education and employment is the subject of a one-day forum in Wellington today.

The forum, organised by the Industry Training Federation, brings together schools, tertiary providers, Industry Training Organisations, and government to discuss how we can all work together more effectively to make sure every student can have a successful transition.

“The transition from school to university is fairly straightforward. But our concern is the lack of equally clear pathways to employment for all students, especially the 70 per cent of young people who do not go to university”, Industry Training Federation Executive Director Jeremy Baker said today.

“How do we make sure that they have access to high value options that will ultimately lead to meaningful work that suit their interests and their abilities? How do we offer clear direction and information to help them make sensible decisions at school and beyond? How do we engage them for longer in education and training so that they gain the skills necessary to be a valued part of the workforce? These are the issues we will be discussing today.”

“There are some great initiatives and programmes to meet the needs of students, but there is little structure and very little co-ordination between schools and the tertiary sectors to make sure there are coherent and meaningful pathways from school to work and further education.

“That is why I am so delighted with the response to this forum. Participants come from a range of organisations including schools, private training establishments, polytechnics, ITOs and industry,” Mr Baker said.

ENDS

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