During 2011, the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, four Local Learning and Employment Networks (including the BGK LLEN), Chisholm Institute and local employers in Southern Melbourne joined forces to build youth employment pathways into our vital health and community services sector.  This partnership developed the pilot program that will see secondary students from across Southern Melbourne take part in a two-year 'Health and Community Services School Based Traineeship'. 

Students will work one day per week with local health and community service organisations, undertake Certificate III in Community Service training with Chisholm Institute while also completing their senior secondary studies. Students will work in a range of organisations such as hospitals, community health providers, disability service providers and community agencies.

The Health and Community Services Sector is Australia's largest employment sector, and the largest one across most of Southern Melbourne.  Speaking at the launch, Steve Ballard (Director, Health and Aged Care, Department of Health - Southern Region) said that "the sector is facing unprecedented skills shortages, largely due to the ageing workforce and the demands that an ageing population will put on services."  Mr Ballard also said that, "as Southern Melbourne is a significant population growth corridor, this region's health and community services sector will face even more pressures, which will exacerbate the need for new and younger workers."

This traineeship program will introduce students to the array of roles within the sector and provide entry level skills.  It will also support regional health and community service employers who are looking for new ways to recruit young people into their organisations. 

The BGK LLEN Transition Network has created a set of 'Transition Help Sheets'.  These Help Sheets have been designed to assist students, families, careers counsellors, secondary school teachers, TAFEs, community organisations and employers.  The Help Sheets provide information, advice and tips about a variety of transitions that take place during a young person's education and training years. 

To access a 'Transition Help Sheet' click on the PDF link below:

• Choosing a secondary school for your child
• Moving from Grade 6 to secondary school
• Advice and tips for a Year 10 student preparing for work experience
• Assisting employers to understand Year 10 work experience
• Information about senior secondary school qualification options
• Moving from secondary school to a TAFE VCAL Program
• Advice and tips for Year 12 students considering a GAP year

For more information about these Help Sheets or to have the set emailed to you please contact the BGK LLEN on 9584 8845.

Students, teachers, schools and employers were winners in this year's Applied Learning Awards.  Berendale School received the '2011 Regional Champion School Award' and Apprenticeship and Traineeship Employment Partners (ATEP) the '2011 Regional Champion Employer Award'.  Both were recognised for contributing most in terms of applied learning (sometimes referred to as vocational learning) for our community's young people. 

The Awards are a partnership initiative of the Bayside Glen Eira Kingston Local Learning and Employment Network (BGK LLEN) and Youth Connect, and align with each organisation's commitment to building a community where all education pathways are equally valued. 

Nearly 300 attendees saw 37 Awards and 26 Nomination Certificates presented to secondary students, teachers, employers and schools at the ceremony held on October 18th.  The Applied Learning Awards recognise the outstanding efforts of students undertaking the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL), VET in Schools (VETiS) certificates and School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBATs). 

Emma Jackson, from the LEEP Community VCAL Program in Mordialloc, won for outstanding achievements as part of her hospitality School Based Apprenticeship.  Sean Campitelli, from St Bede's College in Mentone, was recognised for successful workplace participation as part of his VCAL program and building and construction course at TAFE.  Rebecca Rosenfeld, from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College in Bentleigh, was awarded for accomplishments during her VCE and Community Services TAFE program. Many more students also won awards across 19 different industry areas.

The Awards also recognised those organisations that make applied learning possible; the secondary schools that offer applied learning courses and the businesses that provide students with workplace experiences. For the first year since the awards were launched, teachers were also acknowledged.  Rochelle Travitz from the SkillsPlus Community VCAL Program and Ben Pisani from Sandringham College were the inaugural teaching winners.  Both were selected by the Judging Panel "for providing outstanding training, mentoring and leadership in the field of applied learning".

ATEP, winner of the '2011 Regional Employer Champion Award', has been providing School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships for over a decade.  In addition, ATEP provide advice to schools, participate in career presentations and support unemployed young people to enter the workforce.  "The range and depth of ATEP's applied learning commitment made this Group Training Organisation a worthy winner of this prestigious award" said Danny Schwarz, Chief Executive Officer of Youth Connect.

Berendale School, which provides secondary education for students with a mild to moderate intellectual disability, won the 'School Champion Award'.  Berendale School was recognised as providing a high quality VCAL program, delivering a wide range of accredited industry programs and giving their students access to genuine work placement opportunities. The Judging Panel also recognised that Berendale School "is very outwardly focused and has developed long-standing partnerships with a range of community organisations, businesses and other schools; leveraging these to enhance the applied learning available to their students".

Schools are not required to offer vocational programs and, in fact, don't even have to offer VCAL.  Offering these programs does add to the workload of a school, but schools that do so ensure that their students get access to a full suite of senior school studies.  Applied learning assists in engaging students, builds school-business partnerships and contributes to reducing industry skills shortages.

These schools, and the 2011 Applied Learning Awards, recognise that students have different needs. Louisa Ellum, Executive Officer of the BGK LLEN, said "that by offering a wide array of choices students are more likely to get access to programs that meet their individual learning and career development needs, and ultimately the community is better off for it".

The Applied Learning Awards were also fetured in the November 2nd edition of the Moorabbin Leader Newspaper

The BGK LLEN, Inner Eastern LLEN, Berendale School, Montague School and nearly 20 other disability employment, training and youth organisations have developed Ticket to Work throughout 2011.  Ticket to Work is a SBAT program for young people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities.  For more information download a program flyer or read more about this program on the 'partnerships' section of our website.

Within the BGK LLEN region, a number of Berendale School students with disabilities will be selected to take part in this pilot program.  Ticket to Work will match students with employers, enabling them to take part in an SBAT for between 1 – 2 years.  Students will commence with their employer in early 2012 and will undertake the SBAT training and employment as part of their VCAL.

This program was developed to increase the work, training and post-school employment options of young people with a disability.  Research shows that young people with a disability have a lot to offer businesses and when matched with a suitable employer this can lead to a wide range of benefits for the business and have a significant difference in the life of a student once they leave school.

If you are an employer and would like to offer an SBAT to a Berendale School student and/or are interested in finding out more about this pilot program please contact Fiona Waugh (BGK LLEN) on 9584 8845 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it