‘Broadening Horizons’: Raising Youth Aspirations Through a Gippsland School/Industry/University Partnership

Abstract

The International Labour Organization characterises being young in today’s labour market as ‘not easy’. In parts of Gippsland, a regional area of Victoria Australia, it is certainly not easy because youth unemployment reached 21.7% in 2016, the second highest in the state. Within this regional–global context, research into youth aspirations is often bounded by a deficit-focused framework with little emphasis on contextual positives. This chapter, however, reports on a 5-year project of an innovative regional school–industry partnership. ‘Broadening Horizons’ provides project-based workplace learning units where partners immerse students in ‘real-world problems’ such as road safety and public transport. The Gippsland regional office of the Department of Education sought a formal evaluation of the project from the local university, at the time Monash Gippsland, but in 2014, we became part of Federation University Australia. This chapter outlines findings from a mixed methodology evaluation of the project’s pilot stage and points out a number of important factors. These include a broader understanding of youth career support, youth aspirations and education/industry partnerships in a regional context, and the importance of involving parents. One school, in particular, achieved very successful parental involvement, which had a major impact on the learning and engagement of the students involved. We conclude that projects like this help to illustrate the complexities associated with youth aspirations in a regional context and may help to challenge associated, unsubstantiated stereotypes.