BY Engelbert Schmidl
SUNSHINE Secondary College students said no to the dole last Tuesday in a ceremony at Victoria University’s Sunshine campus.
Year 10 students signed a charter for the Beacon Foundation’s nationwide No Dole program.
The pledge stated: “I willingly commit myself to participate in the No Dole Project, which aims to place every year 10 student in further education, training or employment by the end of March 2007”.
Beacon Foundation Victorian coordinator Jane Artup said the program’s core component was the students’ pledge to pursue work and education options and stay off the dole.
The Beacon Foundation tried to introduce students to the world of work and encouraged students to think about their future work prospects, said Ms Artup.
Student Samsan Sersi said she felt proud about committing herself to something.
“I think the No Dole program will help me with my future aspirations,” she said.
Samsan and her schoolmate Sada Nor plan to pursue medical careers, Samsan as a GP and Sada as a radiologist.
The girls want to one day help people in Somalia, where their families are from.
Footy coaching legend Tommy Hafey was at the No Dole ceremony.
The inspirational four-time AFL premiership coach said self-belief was what kids needed to take from the pledge.
What the kids wanted to do in terms of work was “not important at this stage” , developing a positive attitude mattered most, he said.
Youth employment advocate Doug Smith said the program worked because it sought to link students, schools, community leaders and employers. Mr Smith, from the Brimbank-Melton Local Learning and Employment Network (BMLLEN), said focusing on early school leavers was vital to improving employment prospects.
Statistics indicate the earlier kids leave school, the more likely they are to experience sustained unemployment as young adults, Mr Smith said.
He said year 10 leavers were twice as likely as year 12 graduates to not have full-time work in their early 20s.
“We’ve got to make sure young people are given better vocational training,” he said.
The No Dole program originated at a Tasmanian high school in 1995 and aimed to curb high unemployment rates for school leavers. The program now operates at 60 schools around the country with new schools signing on every year.
Sunshine Secondary College has participated in the program for three years.
The school’s commitment to students was recently recognised with its Pathways Team’s nomination in the Herald-Sun’s Teacher of the Year Secondary Team category.
The Pathways Team is a group of teachers who mentor and advise students on setting and attaining career goals.
