St Patrick’s Technical College says schools focus too much on getting kids into university

A SCHOOL system focused on pumping as many young people into university as possible needs radical change to provide the technically skilled workforce the state requires, a principal says.

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A SCHOOL system focused on pumping as many young people into university as possible needs radical change to provide the technically skilled workforce the state requires, a principal says.

St Patrick’s Technical College principal Danny Deptula says most schools are “supermarket schools”, offering the same educational products on old-fashioned timetables that are not suited to many students.

St Patrick’s Technical College students Alicia, 15, and Alex, 17, coding instructions for a robot. Picture: AAP / Dean Martin

They cater for the “top end” of uni-bound high academic achievers, and the “bottom end because they have to”, but push too many of the middle cohort towards uni.

“Traditional schools have to change their mentality,” he says.

“A lot of it is still ‘uni, uni, uni’. Somehow we need to get industry into traditional schools. Schools have to be more open to different pathways for different kids. Getting a trade is not a second-best option compared to uni.”

St Patrick’s is a “P-Tech” school under a $5 million federal program linking schools with industry partners.

The school is closely tied to manufacturers SAAB, Century Engineering and PMB Defence.

The SAAB partnership allows students to graduate with a Certificate IV in information technology, making them job ready straight out of school.

Mr Deptula says St Patrick’s, which also aims to get students into apprenticeships, has graduates buying their first homes as teenagers and earning $250,000 salaries in their early 20s, while many uni grads struggle to find work.

Mr Deptula said he was encouraged by the new State Government’s policies, including a new technical college.

“This Government recognises the need to skill up the supply chain of workers,” he said.