Justene Webb teaches at Mount Morgan State High School, a town 40 minutes south of Rockhampton. In order to tackle the high employment rate the town experiences and to improve outcomes and opportunities for senior students, Ms Webb drew on her pre-teaching experience in office administration, retail, and childcare, to identify Vocational Education Training (VET) programs for students in her classroom.

Pathways included hospitality, childcare, automotives, retail, volunteering, and business, and students who participated in these programs developed practical skills and knowledge for entering the workforce.

The popularity and growth of the VET program shows just how successful it is with students. In all courses, the completion rate exceeded 85%, with Business and Hospitality achieving 100%.

Ms Webb also attends community events and networking opportunities to build relationships between school and local employers including Advance Rockhampton and Heritage Minerals.

“When it comes to small town like Mount Morgan,” she says, “relationships are everything.”

“Relationships not only enable communication but are also a means to investigate partnerships and collaborate in a transparent, open and trusted environment,” she said, noting that VET is unique as the program uses community feedback to shape what is taught in the classroom.

“Building and maintaining positive relationships is essential to success. We actively take part in local events because these are brilliant times to establish connections with student’s families, and the wider community,” she added.

Thanks to these networks, students also have opportunities to connect with the local Rookwood Weir project for tours and talks on employment opportunities, as well as Alliance Airlines who visit the school annually and are setting up an aviation maintenance workshop at the Rockhampton Airport.

Ms Webb’s drive to ensure her students are linked with employment has seen her undertake numerous professional development and upskilling opportunities including attaining her Construction White Card trainer qualification, which will now allow students to complete the White Card course for free, saving the $80 fee.

Ms Webb is passionate about ensuring that the VET programs are translated into real-world opportunities via work experience and school-based traineeships, with 25% of Year 12 students successfully completing traineeships in 2021.

“By having a strong VET program, students are able to customise their education and training plans to better suit their talents and future aspirations by having access to a variety of alternative pathways,” she said.

“It effectively gives them a head start on a prospective profession.”

Ms Webb is a finalist at the Queensland College of Teachers TEACHX Awards, in the Excellent Leadership in Teaching and Learning category.

Winners will be announced October 27th, on the eve of World Teachers' Day in Queensland.