Overview

Australian School-based Apprenticeships, or SBATs, enable students to work part time as an apprentice or trainee whilst completing their VCE or VCAL. At least one day out of their school timetable needs to be allocated to work or training. There are a range of benefits for students who complete a SBAT including credits towards a full time apprenticeship/traineeships and a pathway to further study and employment opportunities.

The aim of the Northern SBAT Taskforce is to develop practical strategies to increase the uptake of SBATs amongst schools as well as employers in the northern region. The overall vision is to grow the opportunities and for SBATs to become a mainstream option available in more schools.

Over the past few years, the three northern LLENs (Hume Whittlesea, Banyule Nillumbik and Inner Northern LLEN) have been doing a range of initiatives in their own region to raise awareness and improve the numbers of students doing SBATs.
For INLLEN, these initiatives included an Action Research project and report, “The effectiveness of the Australian School-based Apprenticeship model in delivering positive outcomes to students”, the development of the SBAT Guide for students, teachers and parents, and the coordination of an expo for our schools focused on SBATs.

The Northern SBAT Taskforce is a committee of members representing organisations and schools who are interested in a coordinated approach to the growth and successful delivery of SBATs in the northern region. In 2010, the Taskforce started out by identifying three priority areas: Resources for Parents/Employers, Curriculum Support Material for Teachers, and Communicating Vacancies. A brochure for Parents has been produced and circulated throughout schools and community services. A draft proposal for Communicating Vacancies has been completed. The Taskforce is set to identify other priority areas for 2011 with the introduction of the Workplace Learning Coordinator Program.