Issue 4
08 December 2020

Gateway-2-Health is a project newsletter providing updates and key information on the Health Gateway to Industry Schools project being delivered by CheckUP. Our project team is working closely with Queensland schools and health industry employers to promote career pathways and support students' understanding of the varied and in-demand roles in the health sector. We will also help to facilitate learning and experiential opportunities for both students and teachers. 
To learn more about the project or to contact the project team, click the button below!

Welcome to our new Health Gateway Schools

With restrictions on gatherings and travel owing to the COVID-19 pandemic gradually lifting, Queensland's schools have been welcoming visitors back on site - albeit in a limited capacity. Following eight months of video calls and digital engagement with relevant stakeholders from across the state,  the Health Gateway team was finally able to meet in-person with school staff and formally onboard successful applicant schools as Gateway to Industry Schools for the Health Industry. 

Successful schools include those - 

• Currently engaging with local health industry providers;
• Providing students access to career pathways in health (through VET qualifications, work experience programs etc); or
• Working towards establishing industry relationships and health career pathways for students over the coming years. 

The team would like to welcome the following schools to the Health Gateway to Industry Schools project  - 

Far North Queensland

- Bentley Park College, Edmonton, Cairns 

Central Queensland

- St Ursula's College, Yeppoon
- The Cathedral College, Rockhampton

Sunshine Coast

- Kawana Waters State College, Bokarina

Metropolitan Queensland

- Kelvin Grove State College
- Kenmore State High School
- Marlene Moore Flexi Schools Network (Deception Bay, Gympie and Hemmant campuses)
- MacGregor State High School
- Mary Mackillop College, Nundah 
- Runcorn State High School
- St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe 

                                                      South East Queensland

- McAuley College, Beaudesert
- St Michael's College, Merrimac 

Further MoUs to be signed in Term 1  2021 include - 

- Charleville State High School
- St Saviour's College, Toowoomba
- Sunnybank State High School
 

Although applications are currently closed for 2020, the team will resume engaging with other schools that have applied in Term 1, 2021. 

Opportunities in Health

Alongside our engagement with Health Gateway schools, the team has also continued to engage with other schools through career events and further education and employment sessions hosted by schools for their students. 

Through these interactions, we have been promoting the wide range of career opportunities in health and introducing our easy-to-use and highly informative Choose Your Own (CYO) Health Career web-resource.

Events attended since our last update include -

1. Deception Bay Flexible Learning Centre's Mini Careers Expo
2. Upper Coomera State College Speed Careering Session 
3. The Murri School's Health and Careers Expo

While the website is targeted at high school students, it is also a great tool for career guidance counsellors, VET coordinators, school teachers and parents to help them understand and explain to students the pathways leading to a rewarding health career - looking at opportunities beyond doctors and nurses - which students can embark upon while still at school. 

If you have not already visited the CYO Health Career website, click the link below to learn more!

Interested in having the Health Gateway team talk to your students or attend an event hosted by your school?
Get in touch with us at gateway@checkup.org.au !

 Work-based Education in VET

Programs involving work-based experiences have the potential to facilitate better employment outcomes for students, a strong return on investment to employers and governments, and flexible and effective options for training providers.

An article (linked below), published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, discusses the integration of work as a distinct component of an education program as a key element of a successful Vocational Education and Training (VET) system. 

This article also summarises evidence-based benefits of work-integrated learning to 
  - Students and young people 
  - Training providers 
  - Employers
while also highlighting the associated challenges and providing recommendations to address the same. 

The authors' recommendations also reflect the Grow Your Own (GYO) workforce approach that the team has adopted for delivering the Health Gateway project over the coming years. 

Click the link below to access the publication.

Project Update

Despite the challenging year that 2020 has proven to be, the Health Gateway team has been working hard establishing the project, introducing ourselves to schools, key industry stakeholders and networks, and learning about the existing education and training initiatives led by schools and the health industry across Queensland. 

As we head into 2021, the Health Gateway team have been allocated Hospital and Health Service regions. Each school will have a Gateway Program Manager who will be the contact point for schools and industry stakeholders in those regions. This new structure will ensure ease of coordination and also encourage more local linkages with health service providers. We will formally introduce our Project Managers and their allocated regions  in the next edition of the Gateway-2-Health newsletter. 

Click the link below to subscribe and keep up-to-date with the Health Gateway project!

...and lastly!

As we near the end of what has proven to be a very uncertain and tumultuous year, our team would like to extend to you our warm wishes for the holiday season. Looking back on our achievements in 2020, we would also like to thank everyone that has supported the establishment of the Health Gateway project and look forward to continuing this engagement over the coming years.  

Here's wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !

About the Gateway Program

The Health Gateway to Industry Schools program (GISP) is a two-year project being delivered by CheckUP in partnership with Queensland’s Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT). The project aims to develop school students’ knowledge and understanding of the varied roles available in the health workforce and improve their access to learning and experiential opportunities in Queensland’s growing health sector.

The project forms part of a broader Gateway to Industry Schools initiative which currently caters to ten distinct industry sectors. Click here to read more about DESBT's GISP projects.

Want to know more about the work undertaken by CheckUP?
Click here to visit our website.