Working with schools since the end of September, our SBAT Mentors have been busy promoting these great pathways to students, employers and their communities. The SBAT Mentor initiative aims to strengthen on-the-ground support for schools in increasing school based apprenticeships and traineeships.

“The SBAT Mentors work very closely with Careers Advisers and other school staff to help them implement quality SBAT programs,” says Robyn Pemberton, Leader Vocational Education, Skills and Higher Education.

Over the past few months, the SBAT Mentors — Toni Bellos, Stephen Montgomery, Suzanne Taylor and Fiona McKinnon — have been focused on building industry and employer partnerships, and brokering employment opportunities for students. They have also been mentoring SBAT students in their respective clusters.

But one look at the engagement stats shows that the SBAT Mentors have been pretty busy over the past few months. To date, they have recorded 1242 engagements with a range of stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, principals, employers and industry representatives. This flurry of activity has led to some 462 Expressions of Interest in SBATs from students, which is a great result. At the time of writing, the mentors were busy converting these EOIs into contracted SBAT arrangements.

SBATs aside, the mentors have also been actively engaging students in work experience opportunities.

“Today, we have 91 students currently in SBAT Training Contracts across the 24 pilot schools and a further 83 students who are in the process of signing up,” says Rochelle Dowley, Manager School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships.

These are encouraging numbers, particularly given the work involved in the sign up stage. Work experience only works when the right students are matched to appropriate employers, so the SBAT Mentors have been working with schools and employers alike to ensure that every match is a good one.

All in all, the SBAT Mentors have had a great first few months and is shaping up for a successful 2021. The goals for next year? Continue engaging students and schools in the SBAT program and rolling out two important digital resources, one that will streamline the SBAT sign-up process and another that will help students monitor their own progress.

2020 highlights

Recruitment of roles and implementation of the SBAT Mentor initiative.

Establishment of the Year 12 school based apprenticeship pathway in partnership with TAFE NSW and Training Services NSW.

Exemption of reporting requirements for EPPP schools on the Anticipated/Actual Enrolment Return.