Teachers
Commencing in 2010 the Federal Government through DEEWR has funded a national program “to facilitate stakeholder engagement, build community capacity and infrastructure and drive the government’s education reform and social inclusion agendas to improve education and transition outcomes for all young people.”
The Partnership Broker program will function in Sydney North alongside a national network of Partnership Brokers who establish partnerships to facilitate youth transitions. We will foster a strategic, whole of community approach to supporting young people’s learning and development.
Aim of the program
To develop sustainable partnerships between education, business, industry, community, parents and families with the ultimate goal of helping young people to develop the skills, aspirations and motivation they need to succeed in the world of work after completing Year 12 or equivalent. More information
Rold of the Partnership Brokers
- Indentifying the needs of your school, business or organisation
- Sourcing potential partners
- Initiating and creating sustainable partnerships
- Facilitating meetings to develop targeted programs
- Formalising or enhancing existing relationships
In the past we have been involved in helping many of you to develop successful education-industry partnerships. We are currently working on many new partnership arrangements and look forward to discussing how we can help your organisation to link with others.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can Partnership Brokers do to support Education?
Partnership Brokers will listen to your needs and the needs of your students, match them with the needs of industry and facilitate sustainable partnerships. This in turn will provide opportunities for students to develop their skills, contextualise their learning experience and make a smooth transition into further education or employment.
Professional Development opportunities will be developed for school staff which may include networking opportunities with business and supporting agencies and forums on identified specific topics.
Partnership Brokers are required to analyse the needs of schools, parents, business and the community within their region in order to facilitate partnerships, with these groups, which will address the needs of the region.
Which schools can work with Partnership Brokers?
Partnership Brokers are able to work with all types of schools and students of any age, on partnerships which have been designed to target students who may be disengaging or to add depth and interest to the curriculum. They cannot work with or give advice to individual students.
What is the Youth Connections Program?
Youth Connections (YC) is a sister program to Partnership Brokers. Youth Connections work directly with young people who are disengaged from education or at risk of disengaging.
As Partnership Brokers we also help bring support to the YC teams. If you would like to explore the possibilities of how you or your business, organisation or school might become involved please contact us.
What can the Partnership Brokers offer to my business?
Partnership Brokers can help your business engage with education and training providers, not-for-profit organizations and the wider community. Businesses can benefit while complementing their business objective by:
- Increasing their presence and reputation with the local community
- Improve customer loyalty as customers value spending their money with a company with a social conscience
- Developing staff skills such as supervisory skills
- Employees can gain new skills/knowledge feel a sense of pride in their extra-curricular activities and in turn feel a greater sense of belonging
- Staff retention and recruitment
- Developing/updating industry course
- Using mentoring skills within the workforce
- Publicity - marketing and advertising opportunities
- Developing sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility programs
Does the Partnership Broker program offer funding for career and transitional projects?
The Partnership Broker is not a funding body, however we may be able to facilitate small requests related to planning initial meetings. Part of brokering these partnerships will be finding the resources/funding opportunities to allow them to function.
Are the Schools Industry Partnership (SIP)/Business Education Network (BEN) going to coordinate Structured Workplace Learning (SWL)?
Yes, Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) continues to support Vocational Education and Training within the Schools Industry Partnership (SIP) and is exclusively funded under the direction of the NSW State Government. While the boundaries have changed slightly in NSW, Structured Workplace Learning will continue to be managed by the SIP/BEN.
Do the Partnership Brokers still offer direct services in schools such as career presentations?
The Partnership Brokers will not be giving presentations to students but may facilitate partnerships which may in turn deliver various types of workshops/ presentations. Partnership Brokers are available to help engage parents, community and business and can provide facilitation or guest speakers for events such as parent evenings.
How can we work together?
You can be imaginative and let us know what kind of partnerships would enhance your efforts to provide a meaningful and engaging educational experience for young people in your care. In the early stages of this contract we can be more flexible to opportunities and new ideas. These opportunities are not limited to career or vocational education but span the whole curriculum. If you would like to find out more about Partnership Brokers or learn about how you can become part of a partnership, please contact us.
