Pastoral Care - Secondary

Transitions 

I’ll start with the punchline – there are quite a few really good apprenticeships around at the moment that are not being filled. 

I am not the “getting a job/pathway/career” expert in the College and I defer to the wonderful work of Mrs Thompson, Mr Crawford and Mrs Woods, and I am happy to be corrected.  And I am the hugest fan of students finishing Year 12 successfully and gaining from the full College experience! Don’t get me wrong! 

But… 

It’s not for every single person. We’re all different. Equally loved and valued, but different. You see the restless kids emerge about halfway through Yr 9. Many of these kids are not in the apprenticeships that they might be (apprenticeships fulfill the ongoing education until seventeen requirement). Why? 

There still appears to remain some stigma about “dropping out” as some sort of life failure or family shame. And we’re not talking about leaving to do nothing; rather not trying to access the apprenticeship you want now and the one that may well not be there in the future. Still hear a bit the burden of, “be the first in the family to finish school.” 

Another obstacle seems to be transport. I grant you a driver’s licence probably makes life easier. But an unhappy kid dragging their sorry carcass around the College for two or three years unnecessarily is a sad thing and maybe a greater “inconvenience” (for me at least). 

There is also the “filling in time “ student. I understand entirely (even if it is not the option I would recommend) of finishing Yr 12 and “see what happens.” I much prefer “set the ambition high and drive towards it.”  I am less sympathetic, however, with the small number who tell me that school is “easier than working.”  Leaving school is “too hard.” So is study apparently. I worry, of course, for these kids because the day will come and how well equipped will they be? Forgive me; the current unemployment rate is 3.6%; back in the day, when I first was looking for work it was about 10%, I probably carry this around. I have always been deeply grateful for employment. 

Maybe you could also draw a line to about one in five uni students who do not finish their first year. I readily acknowledge that the causes of this are likely complex and would include economic pressures rather than lack of ability or growing disinterest necessarily. I am not trying to make any sort of profound statement, just suggesting that being driven on to uni by the expectations of others (if that is the case) sometimes doesn’t work out either. 

If your kid isn’t built for school or tertiary study, have a think about those apprenticeships. It’s more tailored education, with hands on, with different structures, but education it still is.