Former AFL player Adam Goodes encouraged the students and spoke about the values employers look for. Photo: South Australian Department for Education.
Almost 200 Indigenous students in Year 10 have gathered in Adelaide from across South Australia to explore career opportunities during Aboriginal Pathways to Success Week.
Organised by the Department of Education’s Workabout Team, the event invites students to participate in hands-on activities with employers and training providers around the state capital.
Students select an industry of interest and engage in a week of practical education, informing themselves in a wide range of fields, from the trades and automotive maintenance to the arts, conservation and beauty.
Former AFL player Adam Goodes opened the event at Adelaide University, sharing his journey to success and encouraging students to take the opportunities in front of them and sharpen the skills employers look for, including honesty, discipline and respect.
Among the students visiting Adelaide to upskill was Coden, a Ngarrindjeri, Narungga and Adnyamathanha man from Berri Regional Secondary College, who hopes to relocate to Adelaide and study quantum physics.
“I’d like to learn about space and how it works,” Coden said.
Craigmore High student Lily plans to pursue the arts and develop her passion for music, singing and songwriting, but she is also interested in forensic science and criminology.
“I’m going to go to uni for both of them,” she said.
Aboriginal Pathways to Success Week supports students with their Year 11 subject selection and further Vocational Education and Training options.
Indigenous woman Shanaya said the Aboriginal Pathways program and its staff provided vital guidance along the way.
“And in order to be successful, you need to have that guidance,” she said.
Students living in the regions were encouraged to attend. Waikerie High student Malachi travelled two hours to take part in the trade stream, visiting construction sites and training areas around the city to learn about the industry up close.
Initially planning on being a carpenter, Malachi is now looking into joining the electrical trades as his back-up plan.
Malachi said the programs were valuable as they “show the younger generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids the opportunities that they might not have in the community that they’re living in”.
More information about the state’s initiatives in Aboriginal education can be found on the South Australian Government’s website.
