Busselton Senior High School’s Vocational Education and Training program has been recognised as the best in the country.
The school was awarded the School Pathways to VET Award 2018 at the Australian Training Awards on November 15 in Sydney.
The awards are the peak, national awards for the sector, recognising individuals, businesses and registered training organisations for their contribution to skilling Australia.
Busselton Senior High School VET coordinator Connie Watson said staff and students were thrilled by the win.
“The award was fantastic recognition of the dedication and hard work of lot of staff over significant period of time,” she said.
“Our school has a long history in VET, and I think one of the strengths of our application was our links with industry and employers through our workplace learning program.
“We are highly supported by local employers. We have 1000 employers on our database and many host multiple students over course of the year so the win really wouldn’t be possible without those relationships.”
Busselton Senior High School has been a Registered Training Organisation since 1999. In 2018, 75 per cent of senior school students were enrolled in a VET qualification and in 2017, the school achieved a 100 per cent attainment rate. The school is on track to reach 100 per cent attainment this year.
Ms Watson said it was important for schools to provide engaging pathways for students to employment and further training, whether that be through the VET sector or tertiary education.
Six of WA nominees picked up accolades at the awards.
Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery said this achievement further demonstrated that WA’s VET sector was first-class.
“Western Australians looking to upskill, retrain or enter the workforce can do it with the confidence that they’ll learn from some of the nation’s best trainers, with some of the country’s most innovative training providers,” she said.
