Thanks to the changing global economy, the employment landscape in Australia is no longer the same as the one most teachers and parents grew up in. For example, in the last eight years alone, manufacturing jobs in Australia have fallen by more than 14% in what is a realignment of skills that will continue for years to come. The current prediction is that when this generation of children enter the workplace, 75% of all new jobs will rely on the skills required to learn science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
So, if the graduates of tomorrow leave school without the problem solving skills that a STEM-focused education brings, wave after wave of new workers will be entering the employment market without sufficient skill to take on the jobs that are available. Clearly that increases the chances of them being unemployed – a gloomy prospect made darker by the expected increases in population over the next thirty years and the increased competition for places that is likely to bring.
It is therefore vital that today’s students are given the right skills – right now – so they can take advantage of the opportunities that will be available when they hit the employment market at the end of their studies.
The good news for parents in Melbourne’s northern suburbs is that XXXX College has already responded to the shift in demand. The school will soon celebrate 150 years’ service to Catholic education, and with that comes the experience and culture to adapt to, and embrace, change. As education has evolved over the years, so too has the school’s approach. A new digital technologies curriculum has been fully embedded already, and the school has upgraded its facilities in order to deliver it. XXXX College can now boast more than a thousand computers across its XXXX campus and, if needed, can convert nearly every classroom into an I.T. lab.
The College is backing the curriculum changes with capital investment. In 2017, the refurbished XXXX Learning Centre was opened. It now offers a communal, multi-disciplinary approach to education. After all, what better way to teach students than a flexible, evolving space that is designed to be able to respond to education needs well into the future? Inside the impressive facility, the students work in collaboration pods and presentation areas equipped with state-of-the-art technology. It’s a way of educating that is very much aligned to the ever-wider adoption of smarter working practices by Australian business, and just one example of how XXXX College is committed to helping young men to take advantage of future opportunities.
