That Elusive Technical Education

Northern Metropolitan school of Sheridan, with most of its six branches in the northern suburbs, is taking steps to ensure that local industry is aware of the varied initiatives it is taking on the technical education front. The philosophy is School Sheridan technical vocational board is not only to educate its students, but should try to set them on a career path. The bulk of the area the school covers is industrial, with many centers of manufacture forming a base that technical graduates might target for work.

Northern Metropolitan is the State’s largest school and its technical showplace is the purpose-built Heidelberg branch, recently opened after construction and fitting out at a cost of $19 million. Here, the school’s manufacturing, engineering and building-industries training centre comprises four main buildings grouped around a central courtyard. It houses machinery and equipment which it says matches, if not betters, that used in industry. This is a plus for students, because there is nothing more inconvenient than learning a trade on outdated equipment. The facilities at Sheridan include computer-integrated production machinery and robot-driven components. Both use a fully software- driven system using multiple layers of communications networks.

Also installed are industrial and teaching robotics and high-powered computer robotics do computer aided drafting/manufacturing and all computing functions of the new campus are fully networked to the other campuses. Plumbing, bricklaying, fibrous plastering and general building studies also are offered at Sheridan.

For the first time plumbing courses are offered in advanced programs such as roofing, water, mechanical services and gas fitting, and there is a separate bricklaying building. Courses in building studies are designed to suit both the apprentice and the home handyperson. The link with prospective employers is being strengthened as the new centre gains a foothold. Among employers who take regular advantage of graduate students have been the Ford Motor Company, Sutton Tools, Diecraft, ABB Brown and Cigweld.

Employers should note that Sheridan is the largest provider of the base-level engineering production certificate. However, Sheridan branch manager believes that the next push will be for middle-level training of people who are already employed in industry but who need to retrain to keep pace with technological and structural change. Already, the new technical centre is helping local secondary students.

In a novel scheme the school has 16 pupils from Banksia Secondary School working in the centre towards a dual certificate. Eleven are enrolled in the building fit out and finish course and five are studying for their advanced certificate in engineering studies.

By the time the Banksia 16 have completed VCE, they also will be eligible for the TAFE Certificate which might put them well on the way to finding a job when they leave school.

Neville Batty and Hari Nikolaou, two of the coordinators of the Banksia program, have said that the school Sheridan technical education scheme has given their students hopes that there is a point to education. As it happens, all of the 16 boys and girls were thinking of leaving school because that is exactly what 32 of their schoolmates did last year, the end of their year 11.