A new education and training forum aimed at improving the future planning, delivery and outcomes of education and training for more than 60 Aboriginal communities was launched yesterday by the Northern Territory Government.
The Minister for Employment, Education and Training, Marion Scrymgour, officially launched the Top End Education and Training Network (TEETN) on Wednesday, 12 March.
The network is based on a similar network group jointly facilitated by Charles Darwin University (CDU) and Batchelor Institute currently in operation in Central Australia.
Senior Advisor for Community Engagement at Bachelor Institute, Patrick Anderson said that setting up a similar group in the Top End which provided a Territory-wide approach to the planning and delivery of education and training initiatives for Aboriginal communities was the next logical step.
“As part of discussions under the current Memorandum of Understanding between Batchelor Institute and CDU a number of projects have been identified including working with the Department of Employment, Education and Training to map out relevant infrastructure and resources in the Top End and developing guidelines to utilise these regional resources more effectively,” he said.
CDU’s Director of Remote Coordination, Paul Fitzsimons said that the success of the network in Central Australia provided an ideal model for the Top End to utilise.
“The collaboration of government, private and public sectors and registered training organisations in Central Australia in generating positive outcomes for regional and remote communities, has provided a great model for the Top End to follow,” he said.
The discussions and collaborative activities to stem from the network will benefit a range of Aboriginal communities across the Top End through the rationalisation of service delivery and exploring new ways of working together which will ultimately provide improved results for all Aboriginal students and their organisations.