(part 1 of 2) Engaging Indigenous Students in VET | Djarragun College's VET program

The National Centre for Vocational Education and Research has published its student equity in VET data tables. It revealed an eleven percentage point gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous completion rates of VET qualifications.

In their report, Indigenous Participation in VET: Understanding the Research, NCVER revealed that the VET sector needed to improve and adapt to better engage Indigenous students with VET. More successful engagement, they said, is built on community ownership, genuine partnerships with communities, respect for cultural knowledge and local capabilities, integration of cultural knowledge into training, and alignment of education and training with aspirations and, in the case of remote areas, local employment opportunities.

In this episode, we explore Djarragun College's approach to VET provision. We speak to Taro Morrison, Djarragun's COO, and Lachlan McDonald, Djarragun's VET Coordinator.

We speak about Djarragun's extensive VET program and how it is culturally considerate. We also speak about how successful it has been in engaging its predominantly Indigenous student body with VET, and the duty that Djarragun has to providing its students with pathways beyond high school education.

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

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Find the NCVER data here: Student equity in VET: participation, achievement and outcomes (ncver.edu.au)
Find their report Indigenous Participation in VET: Understanding the Research here: Indigenous participation in VET: understanding the research (ncver.edu.au)

Find out more about Djarragun College here: Djarragun College - Cape York Partnership

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