JUNE 2008

Program drives down two-way street

MITCH Hamphill and Ryan Taig couldn’t wait to drop out of Finley
High School. The “disengaged” year 10 students were studying subjects they didn’t like and couldn’t stand the thought of teachers pushing them around for another year.

“I had no respect whatsoever for teachers,” Mitch said.

“Everything they told me never stuck in my head and I felt like they treated us like we were kids.”

But all that changed when the school introduced cars to the curriculum. Finley High School has just completed its first year of a pilot program allowing disengaged year 10 boys to study a TAFE-based automotive and job-seeking skills course.

The course focuses on fixing cars. It improves literacy, numeracy and
employment skills through activities in imperial measurement, ratios, writing resumes and working as a team.

Deniliquin TAFE automotive teacher Derek Sanders said the course worked for the boys because it was practical. “The boys had one main task which was to build a mini-tractor pull using a ride-on lawnmower,” he said. “At the end of the course we entered the tractor-pull in a competition at the Deniliquin Ute Muster.”

Working with other automotive students completely changed the boys’
outlook towards school. Finley High School’s program was showcased to more than 50 high school teachers, trainers, TAFE and university staff at a VET Network Australia forum last week.

The forum highlighted the importance of building partnerships between
education institutions and industry. “VET courses and school-based apprenticeships are now being studied by more than 50 per cent of year 11 and 12 students in Victoria and 60 per cent in NSW,” network vice-chairman Michael Frost said. “Partnerships like those at Finley are critical as they produce two-way benefits – students stay in school and get the experience they need while industry has
the chance to try before they buy.”

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