Workshop to explore feasibility of Learning Hub to promote opportuniti

Published on 03 March 2023

in March, 40 local businesses, young people and secondary school students came together for a workshop focused on improving the opportunities for young people to access work and study in the Central Goldfields.

Thank you to students from Maryborough Education Centre and Highview College and the Central Goldfields Youth Council who participated and shared their ideas.

And thanks also to the five local businesses – plus the Committee for Maryborough – who took the time to listen and work with our young people to find solutions.

Together the group came up with two immediate actions to work towards in the coming months.

The Triggering Innovation Leadership Transformation workshop was run by The Australian National University, La Trobe University and Fraunhofer Institute (Germany) in partnership with Council. 

This was the second time the workshop was held. The first workshop, held in November last year, focused on finding a solution to the problem of raising awareness of opportunities for young people to access work and study in Maryborough and the Central Goldfields Shire.

In workshop one, stakeholders from education, industry and community identified a need for a physical and virtual Learning Hub in Maryborough with diverse work experiences, career advice and mentors/coaches to build young people’s aspiration and interest in further study and local careers.

The second workshop had an emphasis on youth engagement and input; interaction with local businesses, students and educators; and endorsement of an agreed action plan.

Central Goldfields Shire Mayor Cr Grace La Vella said the workshop explored components of the proposed Learning Hub, designing a pilot project to test these components and the establishment a core group to steer the future development of the Learning Hub.

“Due to the pandemic, we were unable to have students and local young people represented at the November workshop and so our workshop in March was critically important for us to get endorsement from our younger residents about the next phase of this project.

“This workshop will determine how the Learning Hub can promote different educational pathways, such as university, vocational courses, and training to build employability skills.

“We are also determining how we can provide information to young people, parents and career advisors on local jobs and business opportunities.

“This is the next phase in identifying post-secondary education and training options for local young people.

“The identification of pathways to ensure a skilled future workforce is a priority for Council and creating a closer relationship between the education and business sectors to achieve this outcome.”

The TILT initiative delivers on a key component of Council’s Economic Development Strategy 2020-2025: Strategy to improve education and training pathways.