The report refers to research carried out by Education and Employers on a number of occasions using their recent work with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to explore the different approaches to school-industry partnerships to offer flexibility and breadth. The authors also highlight the range of outcomes that effective school-industry partnerships can contribute to. This includes increasing student engagement and participation in learning linked to future careers, building students’ awareness and aspirations for a broad range of new and emerging careers, including STEM careers.

The report goes on to highlight three things governments could do to improve school-industry partnerships in Australia:

Value and measure school-industry partnerships at the system level
Track where partnerships are happening, what they involve, how effective they are, and who is missing out.

Make sure school-industry partnerships are a priority in all schools
Partnerships need time and resources. Teachers need time to engage in partnerships and access learning and support to form them more easily.

Make it easier for all parties to engage in school-industry partnerships
Address the barriers:

• structural barriers: regulatory and governance issues
• information barriers: finding partners and understanding mutual needs
• equity barriers: ensuring partnerships in schools that could benefit the most.

Read the full report here.