Community Noticeboard Item
14-Feb-2001

ECEF - a bright future! by Janine Bowes
[from the email message posted by Harris van Beek to the VECO community on February 12, 2001]
	Dear Friends, The Australian Student Traineeship Foundation has become the Enterprise and Career Education Foundation (ECEF). The change happened on 8 February 2001.
All programs supported financially by the ASTF will have received a letter from The Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Dr David Kemp, outlining these exciting developments. In the letter the Minister spoke of a revolution in the senior years of secondary schooling over the past five years, with the advent of vocational education and training in schools. He said these courses provided opportunities for young people to gain real skills and made schooling more relevant to many young people who would have otherwise left school. As a result, the Minister said, retention rates are increasing and schools, businesses and communities are acknowledging its success. The number of students undertaking vocational courses has risen from 26,000 in 1995 to an estimated 167,000 in 2000. The letter pointed out that vocational education and training is still perceived as a second class option and tends to have a narrow focus. It made it clear that we now need a broader and more holistic approach which embraces the full range of skills for a young person's working life. To this end, the Government is seeking to replace "vocational education and training in schools" with the more meaningful and higher status term "enterprise and career education" - a term that will not only embrace vocational education and training, but will cover other subjects, including academic subjects, which help to prepare a young person for their post-school career. Employability skills, teaching young people to be innovative and enterprising, as well as good career advice will be important components. This approach is consistent with the New Framework for Vocational Education in Schools, endorsed earlier this year by the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, which addresses a number of the National Goals for Schooling. The New Framework will be progressively implemented from January 2001. Dr Kemp said another important change over the past five years has been the development of closer links between schools, businesses and the local community, a change which has brought considerable benefits to each partner. Last year, an estimated 80,000 students participated in work placements, up from just 3,000 in 1995. It is estimated that over 30,000 employers and small businesses are actively engaged with schools across Australia. These achievements significantly reflect the work of the Australian Student Traineeship Foundation (ASTF), which has been a fully funded Commonwealth initiative since it began its work in 1994. While the ASTF has played an important catalytic role, the Government is looking to broaden its focus to encompass the new directions outlined above, and to emphasise the importance of strong linkages between schools and the business community. ECEF replaces the ASTF and will perform these expanded functions. The continued support and funding for the coordination of Structured Workplace Learning, previously carried out by the ASTF, will remain an important function of ECEF. The Minister has appointed an impressive group of high profile individuals to the Board of ECEF, including senior representatives from industry, community organisations, Indigenous communities, young people and the education sector. Mr Phil Kiely, Vice President, Oracle Online Asia Pacific is Chair of ECEF and Mr Ian Spicer, former Chair of the ASTF, is Deputy Chair. A list of Board members is available on the website. The Board members are currently developing the longer-term plans for ECEF and shaping its future directions. I am sure you will agree that the new ECEF is a major step forward in schooling in Australia and will play an important role in the development of young people. The Minister's vision for a further revolution in education will mean close cooperation between ECEF and local level partners. At ECEF we look forward to meeting the new challenges working together with you. I will forward you more details about ECEF in coming months. In the meantime, please visit our website at http://www.ecef.com.au . Kind regards, Harris van Beek CEO Enterprise and Career Education Foundation

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