Gateway programme successful for students, employers, schools — report

The first year of the new Gateway programme has been a great success according to an evaluation report released today by Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey.

Gateway is a new government programme that provides opportunities for senior school students to participate in learning towards national qualifications in real workplaces, and have that learning integrated with their wider courses of study. Gateway caters for over 1,000 students in 24 schools, and involves over 200 employers.

Steve Maharey said he was delighted to read the Gateway Interim Process Evaluation which found a high level of endorsement for Gateway from the three main participant groups – employers, students, and schools.

“Employers have been very supportive of Gateway. The programme appears to be accessing previously untapped goodwill on the part of employers towards their local school and its students. As Gateway involves additional obligations and effort on the part of employers compared to work experience, this support is particularly gratifying.

“Students’ learning needs are being better met and their achievements can be identified through National Qualifications Framework assessment.

“I have been concerned for some time about the number of young people who don’t make the successful transition from school to work. The Gateway pilots show young people’s transitions are more likely to be successful if they can move from a structured learning environment with support structures to assist them with potential problems or difficulties.

“Schools benefit too. Gateway is enabling pilot schools to be more responsive to students’ learning and transition needs.

“The report shows Gateway is acting as a lever for significant internal change in some pilot schools. As teaching staff go into workplaces, new partnerships between schools and enterprise are being created; and classroom learning is being up-dated and reinforced,” Steve Maharey said.

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