School & Industry Leaders Forum 2007
The objectives of the forum were to highlight emerging skills and skill shortage areas pertinent to the Sunshine Coast needs. The forum was used to examine local career prospects and career information where school personnel, such as Vocational Education Coordinators, Subject Heads of Department, worked co-operatively with Industry representatives to develop an Action Plan for specific career and transition needs for young people aged 13 to 19 on the Sunshine Coast Region. Through this Action Plan, SCsILS will be able to focus on implementing specific actions relating to the Local Community Partnerships programmes (SWL, CTS, ASP). The forum also allowed linkages between School, Industry / Businesses and SCsILS to strengthen and reinforce the existing relationship.
A 5am start for the SCsILS team and the Kawana Waters State College Hospitality staff and students ensured that the Lake Kawana Community Centre was ready for over 100 participants in the Sunshine Coast Schools and Industry Leaders Forum (SILF). The hospitality team prepared an excellent breakfast and the continued table service ensured everyone had a great breakfast.
Karen Schmidt – Let’s Grow – Y Generation was the facilitator for the morning and kept everyone entertained with her talk on “creating positive workplace attitudes that help people and organisations grow” and her Generation Y experiences and advice. Karen also ensured that all guest speakers and work-shopping sessions ran efficiently and on time.Thanks to all of the professional and informative presentations by:
Linda Cichocki, Queensland Health,
Brett Mills, Ken Mills Toyota,
Geoff Adams, Department of State Development
Caroline Sorby, Hyatt Regency Coolum
Suellan Taylor, Queensland Tourism
Keith Murdock, BCITF
Lara Wilde, Ag Force
The Table Action Planning sessions held throughout the morning produced many key issues to be addressed by schools and industries to ensure a smooth transition from school to industry for all students on the Sunshine Coast. SCsILS has developed an Action Plan from this feedback and will distribute this document to all key stakeholders as soon as DEST approval has been granted.
Beerwah State High School presented a Good Practice Showcase of School and Industry Link’s that they have developed within their community to show how strong and sustainable links can develop great working relationships between schools and industry.
Industry Tours
The aim of the industry tours is to better inform students of the workings and career options available within specific industries. Students were given a tour of the business to describe how it works, the type of jobs and a look at some of the safety issues involved in working in such an environment.
Business’s so far involved with Industry Tours are:
Sunshine Coast Private Hostpital
60 students and staff from 5 local State & Private schools participated in a tour of the Sunshine Coast Private Hospital located at Buderim. The tour showcased the operating theatre, intensive care unit and surgical ward, giving students and teachers a greater awareness of hospital protocol and career pathways within the health industry. SCsILS received outstanding feedback from all involved and are hoping to organise more tours for next year. Nambour Hospital are also looking at providing the same opportunities to the Students and teaching Staff. Thanks to Julie Hill and her team at Sunshine Coast Private Hospital for the outstanding effort in planning that they put into the day.
Schools that participated in 2007:
Chancellor State College
Immanuel Lutheran College
Maroochydore State High School
Mountain Creek State High School
Red Rooster - The tour took the Special Needs Unit from Sunshine Beach State High School behind the scenes and covered all aspects of the business from receipt of goods, storage, kitchen operations and customer service. Occupational Health and Safety, occupations and career paths were also highlighted. Thanks to Tom Harper from Red Rooster, for coordinating the visit.
Sunshine Beach State High School Special Education Unit |
