Pathways for potential

The iron ore mining town of Tom Price, in the vast north of Western Australia, is a long way from the bright lights. A small, remote hub at the edge of the majestic Hamersley Ranges, Tom Price is home to 4,500 people, many of them Pilbara Iron employees, contractors and their families.Tom Price residents are quick to point to their town’s location as being its major draw card – it might be 1,500km from the nearest capital city, but opportunities abound for fishing, camping and bushwalking through the spectacular Karijini Gorges.

However, those same residents also acknowledge one of the town’s major drawbacks – a perceived lack of opportunities for its high school students and limited exposure to workplace prospects. In recent years, the lack of direction and initiative shown by some students has been felt keenly, with poor academic performance and high levels of truancy. In 2003 the Tom Price Senior High School had one of the worst academic records and lowest retention rates in Western Australia.

It was with these and other issues in mind that the Pilbara Pathways Partnership (PPP), an educational and vocational initiative that prepares students for the workplace, was developed and implemented. The project is not yet two years old, but has proved to be a roaring success. In November, the PPP was named as one of three finalists for the VET (Vocational Education Training) In Schools Excellence Award at the 2005 Australian Training Awards, facilitated by the Federal Department of Education, Science and Training. This followed the receipt of the VET for School Students Award, sponsored by computer company CDM, at the State Training Excellence Awards in September.

For each of the partners – Pilbara Iron, Pilbara Training and Further Education (TAFE), Apprenticeships WA and the Tom Price Senior High School) this recognition simply served to confirm what they already knew – that the initiative was bringing about an important range of benefits for students, their families, the Pilbara community and the partners.