As Queensland welcomes a record number of student enrolments this year, the state continues to encourage more Year 12 students to consider taking up vocational education and training (VET).
The state has been ramping up its efforts to attract more Queenslanders under the age of 21 to participate in its apprenticeship program through free training initiatives at TAFE (technical and further education) Queensland.
“I encourage all of the 37,000 graduates still thinking about what to do this year to consider the fantastic opportunities available at TAFE,” Training and Skills Development Minister Shannon Fentiman said.
“Qualifications in aviation, science and engineering along with apprenticeships in electrical, construction, hospitality and much more are on offer for free. We want to make sure all young Queenslanders have access to world class training that will lead to a successful and exciting career.”
Since August 2018, over 16,000 students have undergone free training through the state’s apprenticeships under-21 program.
Queensland has been spending almost $1bn every year on the initiative, which covered around 240,000 students last year. That same year, over 22,500 Year 12 students also received a certificate qualification even before graduating.
A ‘bumper year’ for the state
Following the projections from last year, Queensland welcomed 2020 with the highest overall enrolment to date with 856,500 students attending school this year. More than 578,000 of these students are enrolled in 1,249 state schools, while the rest are attending Catholic or independent schools.
The state is also set to open eight new state schools, the highest number of state schools to open in one day in more than three decades, Education Minister Grace Grace said.
“We will welcome six full secondary year levels in state high schools for the first time this year and thanks to our 2020 Ready investment, we are indeed ready and eager to welcome an expected additional 17,500 students,” she said.
The state also welcomed 53,000 teachers who will be heading back to their classrooms, with more than 1,000 of these were hired just this year. Grace said the hiring of additional teachers is part of the state’s commitment to hire more than 3,700 extra teachers in the next four years.
This year also marks the state government’s record $1.46bn investment in school infrastructure, which supported 1,450 jobs.