Patron - His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC (Retd) Governor-General of Australia
GTA is the national peak body representing the Network of over 150 Group Training Organisations (GTOs) employing over
40,000 apprentices and trainees throughout Australia.
27 March 2008
Award recognises innovation in Indigenous training
An Indigenous training project initiated by group training organisation, AFL SportsReady,
and Swinburne University has been announced as the winner of the Group Training
Australia (GTA) Partnership Award for 2008.
The GTA Partnership Award was announced yesterday at the Australian Association of
Career Counsellors Conference in Hobart. It recognises and promotes effective and
innovative collaboration between one or more schools and a group training organisation.
The winning project, First Stop, combined resources from AFL SportsReady and
Swinburne University and established a pilot program for Indigenous Australian School-
based Apprentices working in sport and recreation.
The project ran throughout 2007 and involved six Indigenous and two non-Indigenous
students. The students worked on events including the Dreamtime Game at the MCG and
the Australian Basketball Championships, as well as organising and conducting basketball
and tennis clinics for primary school students.
The project aimed to improve the student’s retention post year 10, improve transition from
school to work, increase the likelihood of Certificate III attainment, promote Indigenous
leadership among youth and generate high self-esteem.
Group Training Australia, CEO Jim Barron, said, “This innovative project is a great
example of how the community, education providers and business can collaborate to have
a lasting, positive effect on Indigenous youth.”
“The project has seen six Indigenous students, who were at risk of dropping out of school,
not only remaining in education, but undertaking further studies in sport and recreation”.
A successful element of the program was the use of Indigenous mentors who worked
closely with trainees to identify and resolve any difficulties. Also, the work was chosen to
be interesting, varied and culturally significant, while a constant stream of communication
was maintained between the students and project workers.
AFL SportsReady Victorian State Manager, Paul Broderick said he hoped that the
program would have a positive effect on the students’ future.
“This partnership has provided some amazing opportunities for the young people involved,
which we hope will continue to have a positive effect on their education, employability,
self-esteem and cultural identity into the future”.
Media Contact: Renata Davis, Foresight Communications, 02 9241 2811,
rdavis@forecoms.com.au
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