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CreatingCase Study
Business and
School
Partnership
A vision addresses a region’s skill shortage
Snapshot
Northland Secondary College’s innovative Northland Technology Education Centre (Ntec) is leading the way in developing
partnerships between the school and various members of the local community to meet the needs of students across
Darebin.
Background
Northland Secondary College prides itself on providing students with ‘real life skills and real world opportunities’. Ntec
provides high quality training using industry-standard facilities and equipment in areas where there are skills shortages.
Ntec runs VET certificate courses in Engineering, Automotive, Electro-technology, Furnishing, Manufacturing Technology,
Building and Construction, Musical Instrument Making and Repair and Horticulture to Year 10, 11 and 12 students in both
VCE and VCAL. It also runs pre-apprenticeship programs which integrate VET programs in many of the above areas with a
VCAL.
Create
Northland Secondary College worked in partnership with the Northern Area Consultative Committee - Skills Shortages
Committee and Inner Northern Local Learning and Employment Network (INLLEN) to examine local regional data. The data
showed a significant skills shortage in the region and a youth unemployment rate of 23 per cent.
This identified the need to establish a facility that would meet industry, community, student and individual needs. As a result
the school investigated the establishment of a manufacturing and technology facility attached to the school.
The college established a Reference Group of regional industry, local government, union, INLLEN, local TAFE, Training
Boards, community and economic development representatives for the proposed new facility. The INLLEN provided initial
funding for a Project Worker who together with the principal and other Reference Group members developed a partnership
strategy to ensure the funding and construction of the new facility.
As part of the College’s curriculum program, Ntec works with a wide range of partner organisations to facilitate students’
entry into apprenticeships, traineeships and further education, in particular at TAFE institutes on completion of their courses.
NTEC seeks to engage students in learning and keeping them in school by giving students real life learning.
Implement
Ntec was designed to be accessed by all schools in Darebin and Melbourne’s northern region. Thus the college works in
cooperation with other schools in the area and has students from 30 public and independent schools attend VET programs
at Ntec.
The college is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and a provider of specialist VET programs in a range of areas as
well as Ntec to over 400 students from schools in Melbourne’s north.
Since its inception, Ntec has also engaged with community through the Ntec Indigenous Australian Focus Group and the
Ntec Women’s Focus Group. Both focus groups actively promote the participation of Koorie youth and women in non-
traditional occupations in manufacturing and technology. Each group also involves representatives from local business
schools, unions and community organisations.
Grow
The College stresses the importance of leadership in driving the partnership. Ntec has a dedicated project coordinator who
now works full time in maintaining the partnership, working with the leadership team to ensure the commitment continues.
This position is funded as part of the College’s core staff.
Evaluations of the partnership have shown that having a clear partnership goal and a flexible approach to running the
partnership has led to successful outcomes.
The partnership has lead to an exciting new future for the College. An $11.7 million Ntec Regional Trade Training Centre
(Stage 4 of Ntec) is due to be completed in 2011. The completion of the centre will start Stage 1 of the redevelopment of the
college as a Senior College of the Arts and Technology. The new centre will also include new areas for building &
construction, a $2.3 million sustainable and renewable energy training area to train young people in green jobs, a dedicated
area for plumbing, electro-technology, horticulture, engineering and casting technology.
Together with the $5 million current Ntec facility, the new centre means the college will have one of the largest technology
facilities in Victoria and be the foremost provider of technology education of colleges in Melbourne. The existing PreApprenticeship Programs in building, plumbing, auto and electro-tech will extend to other trade areas utilising the new
facilities.
The College is also introducing apprenticeship training in engineering/casting technology - a first for a secondary college in
Victoria. The apprenticeship is run in partnership with the Australian Foundry Industry.
The College has also received planning money for the next growth phase; the construction of new $15 million Visual &
Performing Arts buildings and facilities. These new facilities, together with the current and new Ntec facilities, will form part of
the new College of the Arts and Technology.
As part of the new college, a business plan is being prepared for the establishment of a 60 bed residential on site, so that
country students can take advantage of our unique programs.
Key achievements
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The school is successfully helping a large majority of students transition into trades and TAFE
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A few graduates have now been accepted into university whilst continuing to study a trade.
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New programs and facilities have been realised beyond the original scope of the partnership