Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs in schools require engagement with industry. Where such engagement exists, it is often driven by the school as a request for support rather than a true partnership which equally benefits employers’ workforce development needs. Without true engagement by industry, VET programs in schools are therefore delivered in a school culture which does not replicate workplace conditions and environments. As a result, young people are not adequately prepared for the modern workplace and only 39% of Australian VET in Schools students gain employment in the industry in which they trained.
Drawing upon its successful engagement with the Huon Valley Trade Training Centre aquaculture program in Tasmania, the Tassal Group has established the Greater Whitsunday Aquaculture Education Partnership to grow its future prawn workforce and create positive employment opportunities for school leavers in northern Queensland.
The GWAEP is unique in that it is driven by industry in a mutually-beneficial partnership with five schools and TAFE Queensland. Tassal will provide the schools with access to its specialist staff to deliver training sessions within the schools and at its Proserpine Prawn Farm. Tassal will provide ongoing technical support to the schools in the operation of their biofloc recirculating aquaculture systems and will host an annual PICNIC (Prawn Innovations Camp – New Ideas Celebrated) where teams of students will compete to solve real production problems identified by Tassal management.
Critical to the success of the GWAEP will be Tassal’s support within the schools to establish true workplace cultural environments in the training programs. Students will be treated as employees with real responsibilities, meaningful tasks, and employee/employer relationships with their training staff.
At the completion of the two-year Certificate II in Aquaculture program Tassal will commit to providing employment opportunities for graduates, thus ensuring future workforce needs are met, as well as providing meaningful futures for young people in their own community.