Day a win for Indigenous students
Wimmera leaders hope an opportunity for Indigenous children to enjoy hands-on experiences with trades and services will generate deeper links between education and employment.
Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Cooperative partnered with Skillinvest to host a ‘try-a-trade’ day for Indigenous children in Horsham last week.
Construction and service trades and crafts, and public-service organisations were on site to provide students with a real-life experience of their work.
Goolum Goolum community programs manager Dean O’loughlin said the response from the region’s organisations and services had been ‘overwhelming’.
“Everyone has jumped on board. Public-service people including police, ambulance, forest and land, as well as hairdressers, bricklayers, plasterers and plumbers to name a few, all came along to show the children what they are about,” he said.
“It is all about applied learning and hands-on scenarios.
“They were making toolboxes, plastering and bricklaying – they were out the front with the fire services and their hoses too – just living and breathing it all for a day.”
Mr O’loughlin said a priority for the cooperative and Skillinvest had been giving Indigenous children an avenue to talk with Indigenous leaders within selected careers.
“It was a chance to expose Indigenous children to the immense opportunity for Indigenous employment, and we know if we don’t have these kind of events, you just don’t get the kids linking in with these career opportunities,” he said.
Skillinvest consultant Shane Cross said the event attracted people from a more than 100kilometre radius around Horsham.
“It brought the community and all the mobs in together,” he said.
“It was amazing to see how excited and passionate the kids were, and how they all gravitated towards the experiences on offer.
“The kids had a chance to put their hands to something, along with the right people with them to answer their questions and give them all the information they were after.
“You could see it got them thinking about their future.”
Further mentoring
Parks Victoria park ranger and traditional owner Damien Skurrie said he believed Indigenous students would benefit from ‘doing and touching’ as a complement to their classroom work.
“I think Indigenous kids in particular learn more that way,” he said.
“We are really trying to build some interesting programs into school curriculums to give these kids some further mentoring.
“For example, why can’t they come out with me potentially on the weekend or during a school day as part of curriculum.
“Come out with me and do some cultural burning and other park works.
“It helps with development skills and its allround just great.”
Mr Skurrie said he could not put a price on the day’s benefit for Indigenous children.
“These are the next generation of kids coming through in our community and it was fantastic to see them explore alongside the many organisations and services on offer,” he said.