Winter 2007

Careers and transition

Putting the learner in the driver's seat

Jillian Blight reports on her South Australian pilot program that reverses the traditional model of course design and selection.

Custom-built education is putting learners in the driving seat of their future life, learning and work.

In South Australia, young people are increasingly making the decisions about what, when and how they learn to equip themselves for successful futures.

Instead of picking pre-packaged VET course models off the showroom floor, students work through the career development process with a team of professionals to custom design their own ‘learning vehicles’ based on their identified interests.

The ‘South Australian Youth Engagement Strategy’ (SAYES) is developing a fleet of education initiatives that are fuelled by the needs, interests and aspirations of young people as well as the needs of industry.

In the SAYES, senior school is just part of a learning continuum that includes TAFE SA and private providers, learning inside and outside of school classrooms and paid or unpaid work.

In 2005–06, the review of the State’s senior years qualification, the South Australian Certification of Education (SACE), recommended developing personal learning plans and appropriate curriculum to put senior schooling in the contexts of the larger ‘learning space’ and fostering students’ skills in lifelong learning for both vocational and personal growth.

The aim is to strengthen and simplify access to further education, training and employment and facilitate transitions for all young people, whether they are studying or working.

The State’s ‘Futures Connect’ strategy aims to support all government school students to complete year 12 or its vocational equivalent and successfully negotiate their many career transitions.

In Premier Mike Rann’s words, young people should be ‘learning and/or earning’.

Collaborating with industry

Collaboration between industry, community education and training providers is an essential part of a broader community involvement in young people’s career development processes.

The ‘Mitsubishi Alternative Learning Options Program’, a pilot project based at Mitsubishi Motors, pioneered a vocational education model in which young people custom-designed their learning with an expert professional team—and their own parents.

The team of professionals includes the young people’s family, The Smith Family case managers, called ‘Learning for Life’ workers, the TAFE SA staff, school and Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd (MMAL) employees.

The students, eight young men and five young women who are clients of The Smith Family, developed programs to undertake in an area of the Mitsubishi plant they chose; that is, a learning space of their choice.

Career development theory affirms the vital role of a strong relationship between the young person, their family and the school.

Parents attended the introductory evening so they and their children could jointly consider the benefits of participation. They discussed with the Learning for Life workers and other professionals, the program’s value and why and how they could be involved in their children’s choice of career options. They also joined in the two-day Mitsubishi Motors orientation program, touring the workplace with their sons or daughters.

In the induction program, students began working through an adapted version of the Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS) Individual Learning Plan (ILP) and developed generic team building, communication, problem solving, career goal setting, action planning and decision making and résumé building skills.

They also completed a work–life interest chart and learned about the structure, organisation and career opportunities offered at Mitsubishi.

In a process dubbed ‘speed mentoring’, students interviewed plant and administration workers about their job roles and working conditions and toured the plant to see the jobs in action before deciding where they wanted to work and what they could learn.

Then they discussed with the Learning for Life workers what appealed about their work choice and how it related to their strengths. They also listed obstacles to success and identified further qualities they required.

Students presented their decisions in a roundtable discussion with Learning for Life workers, Mitsubishi employees, DECS staff and their peers. Having verified the tasks they would undertake, they marketed themselves to MMAL staff with their new résumés and signed workplace agreement forms.

In their ILP, the students recorded what they were looking forward to and any concerns they had. They developed an action plan outlining the immediate next steps—paperwork, transport, communication and clothing, and rated between 1 and 10 the likelihood of their completing their action plan.

The professional team could use the rating to gauge student commitment to the learning experience and identify those who needed more support.

In a five to ten day placement (including an Occupational Health Safety and Welfare induction from Mitsubishi staff), the customised learning was accredited through VET competencies. Students also gained a SACE Stage 1 Integrated Studies unit for the career development and ILP components.

TAFE SA lecturer Ron Williams developed each students’ customised learning plan and logbook based on the Certificate I Industry Pathway (Manufacturing). He visited each student to ensure that they felt safe and comfortable in what they were doing, and verified with their workplace mentors the potential of the student’s work area choice to deliver the competencies of the learning plan. ‘I was able to tap into what they enjoyed doing and show them the different courses and training options that would suit their interests,’ Mr Williams said.

Later, he assessed students’ competence in the workplace, observed work practices (employability skills) and skills development. A final 30–45 minute interview included an oral assessment and sign off of the competencies in the competency assessment booklet, enabling a discussion of the exercises and data in students’ logbooks.

In the final workshop, parents and students worked in small groups to estimate and discuss each other’s vocational types. Together, they explored the meanings of John Holland’s vocational types. Were they realistic, investigative, enterprising, artistic, social or conventional persons? They all completed Holland’s ‘Self-Directed Search’ vocational interest assessment and discussed and debated the results. This proved to be a very powerful tool in stimulating dialogue, as parents also became involved in their own career development processes.

At the end of the program the students set goals and planned future actions, including completing the intended destination survey component of the DECS ILP.

Results

Students explored the world of work in a structured way that gave meaning to their VET learning. Treated as adults, they took charge of their life, learning and work and re-engaging in learning—making plans for school, TAFE, apprenticeships or employment. They reported improved personal development, time management, organisational skills and career awareness.

Parents said they had become more aware of the working environment. They also reported being more able to communicate with and support their children’s options and future educational plans.

The professional team learned to understand and appreciate each other’s roles and responsibilities. Organisations that had previously not worked together combined to give students an opportunity to design and manage their preferred learning, to experience the world of work in a unique way and to engage with a variety of people bent on maximising the students’ learning experience. Smith Family Learning for Life workers said they learned what schools were doing in career development knowledge. Schools were enriched through the contact with the Smith Family staff.

TAFE SA staff said they were developing a ‘case management’ approach to learning that can be applied to any structured workplace learning experience.

Mitsubishi employees developed mentoring and training skills and willingly shared their experience, skills and career stories.

Mitsubishi’s Workforce Development and Training Coordinator, Phil Handstock, said: ‘It created a lot of energy and excitement to have the students working alongside staff in hands-on roles. It was a really rewarding and meaningful way for Mitsubishi to give back to the community.’

The future

This customised enterprise-based learning experience gave credit towards a school and national qualification that would become a powerful driver of further life learning and work goals and actions.

In 2007, the program is expanding to other enterprises and to a greater number of Smith Family clients. The Learning for Life workers will operate from schools to ensure relationships and integrated services with the schooling sector.

Jillian Blight is the program manager of Career Development in the Futures Connect program of the South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au