‘It’s good, but it’s not good enough’ SMYL CEO Sam Gowegati

MORE than 200 Aboriginal students gathered in Fremantle last Friday to celebrate their impending Year 12 graduation.

The students have been taking part in school-based traineeships organised by local non-profit organisation South Metropolitan Youth Link (SMYL), which is achieving some of the best school retention rates in the country.

In fact, when the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) met in 2011 to draft an education action plan for indigenous people, SMYL’s program was the only one it could point to as a highlight.

SMYL has been operating in Fremantle for 30 years under the leadership of CEO Sam Gowegati.

“In 2014 we have now got about 50 of every 100 kids reaching year 12 in WA,” Mr Gowegati told the crowd, which included federal Liberal MP Ken Wyatt, the first indigenous Member of the House of Representatives.

“It’s good, but it’s not good enough.”

Before the traineeships’ introduction, only 38 per cent of Aboriginal students in WA government schools were completing Year 12, compared to 70 per cent of non-indigenous students.

Mr Gowegati told the Herald the program’s success was due to the incentive of paid work.

For one or two days a week students leave the classroom to work with a range of employers, picking up skills, confidence and contacts. Another day is taken up with TAFE studies.

Mr Gowegati says it’s also more culturally appropriate, as indigenous communities have a different take on adolescence and the students respond well to having more adult responsibilities.

SMYL has recently signed a partnership agreement with the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an accredited vocational and educational training provider. The CCI has a commitment to providing 300 indigenous people with guaranteed employment through the program.

by STEVE GRANT