Students keen to ply a trade can now tap into their passions from Year 9 at Sydney Catholic Schools’ Southern Cross Catholic College at Burwood.
The Innovation and Enterprise specialisation provides a special focus on employability through a wide range of available traineeships and apprenticeships where students are able to fast-track their training into a career.
Starting from next year the Year 11-12 college will also open its doors to Year 9 and 10 innovation and enterprise students for the first time.
“Our new ‘innovation and enterprise’ career pathway is offering Certificate I courses to Year 9 students in automotive, construction, hospitality, retail and technology,” principal Tony Patton explained excitedly.
“Post-school destination tracking of past students shows that 95 per cent of students are in further training, education and/or employment within six months of leaving Southern Cross” – Michael Morris
The college will also start offering full-time courses for students in Years 9 to 12 in Music, Dance, Drama, and Musical Theatre through the Performing Arts specialisation.
This will be in addition to the popular part-time ViVA! and CaSPA performing arts programs that will continue to be offered to all SCS secondary students at the college.
A Southern Cross Burwood Beauty Services student applies make-up to a ‘customer’.
“As part of our repositioning we have dropped the ‘Vocational’ out of Southern Cross Catholic Vocational College but only to better reflect who we are: a Catholic college where students of all abilities can shine brightly, whether they are born to dance or to ply their trade,” Mr Patton said.
“I couldn’t be more delighted at the prospect of nurturing and training the young performers of tomorrow, alongside students completing our outstanding full-time occupational training programs and apprenticeships.
“Both are applied learning pathways, in which students learn by doing. Both develop practical expertise in the student’s area of passion.”
The college is expected to grow by more than 200 students with the addition of the full-time performing arts cohort and a surge in interest in the existing Year 11 and Stage 5 Innovation and Enterprise specialisation, Mr Patton said.
Welcoming the announcement, Michael Morris, the college’s Leader of Trade Training and Strategic Partnerships, said: “It’s great that students will have the opportunity to ignite their passion in trade courses and have the opportunity to accelerate their career by participating in courses they see as both exciting and rewarding.”
In 2020, the college reconfigured the timetable to enable all students to undertake an apprenticeship, traineeship or be in part-time work every week while still attending school.
“This has been very successful, despite COVID-19 restrictions, and has produced a surge in the number of applications for full-time enrolment at the college in Stage 6 in 2021,” Mr Morris said
“Southern Cross is always looking to form new partnerships with employers and agencies to support employment opportunities for future, current and transitioning students” – Michael Morris
Mr Morris projected steady part-time external enrolment growth based on the past 10 years’ of trends and continuing post-school success.
“Post-school destination tracking of past students shows that 95 per cent of students are in further training, education and/or employment within six months of leaving Southern Cross – a consistent outcome since the commencement of the college 10 years ago,” Mr Morris said.
Over the next five years, he envisions even more courses will be offered at the college, including the introduction of higher education courses, and an emphasis on gifted and talented and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) focused courses.
“Southern Cross is always looking to form new partnerships with employers and agencies to support employment opportunities for future, current and transitioning students,” Mr Morris said.
The college is currently looking to establish additional partnerships with employers in the health, education and building and construction sectors, he said.
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Southern Cross Catholic College is enrolling now. See SCCC to enrol your child and to start their learning journey.