Get Into Vocational Education (GIVE)

The innovative and award-winning GIVE project developed and studied the effectiveness of an integrated literacy, mathematics, science and trades program for students in Years 4–9. The aims of the project were to improve student engagement, enhance student learning, and build an awareness of trades as a vocation. The project was a partnership with the Gladstone Area Group Apprentices Limited (GAGAL) trade training organisation to provide trades experiences to students and link these to classroom learning in literacy, maths and science.

The first GIVE project was a pilot conducted in Term 4 of 2010 at Gladstone Central State School and funded by the Rio Tinto Alcan Community Benefit Fund. Due to the project’s success in improving student engagement and outcomes in just one term, the school decided to self-fund the project to continue in 2011.

The work at the school in 2010 and 2011, in conjunction with GAGAL, resulted in the program being named as one of three State Finalists in the Middle Phase of Learning category of the 2011 Education Queensland Showcase Awards. To become a finalist was a huge achievement for such a young program. The NAPLAN results at the school were also sensational with approximately 40% of students improving by at least two NAPLAN Bands in literacy and numeracy.

The second GIVE project was conducted with three schools in the Rockhampton region during 2011, and was funded by a philanthropic grant from The John Villiers Trust. One of these schools then continued the project with self-funding in 2012 and 2013.