Bedford College and Inaburra School signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week that commits both organisations to working together in providing students vocational education opportunities for their education and course opportunities post school.

The synergies between the organisations are an important factor in the two being able to work together to promote the education of students. With the change in rules increasing the number of vocational courses students can do in the HSC, there is an opportunity for Bedford to provide vocational training on-site at Inaburra.

Inaburra has a long history of sending students to Bedford College for their tertiary courses and the opportunity of providing vocational training on-site at Inaburra now means students can start on this pathway well before they complete their HSC.

Mr Stuart Jones, the Vocational Education Administrator at Inaburra School, is looking forward to the benefits it will give senior students at Inaburra. “With the broader pathways available through vocational education, this partnership helps Inaburra tap into the tertiary education environment as well as the understanding Bedford has of what the employment sector is looking for in new employees,” he said.

“It also provides the opportunity for our students to gain their training on-site here at Inaburra,” he added. “We look forward to the Inaburra community being an enthusiastic part of this partnership.”

Steve Dixon, CEO of Bedford, was excited at building upon the close relationship Inaburra and his organisation have had in the past with this agreement. “The benefit of this partnership with Inaburra for Bedford is we can engage with students as they consider what their future is going to be, and we can help equip them far earlier than they would have been otherwise,” he stated.

Steve went on to explain “We want to make our courses even more accessible and see this as an opportunity not just to provide the excellent education we do on site at Norwest, but to also be able to provide that student experience at Inaburra. The pathways we provide give students a way forward, an obvious plan, allowing them to track what possibilities open up. They get a greater picture of what the future may hold for them as they pursue their careers more broadly at school through our partnership.” Steve explained.

Inaburra Principal, Dr James Pietsch is also enthusiastic about the opportunities provided by the two organisations working closely together.

“This program is part of a larger strategy to increase the options we can provide at Inaburra that go beyond the traditional HSC offerings. There is a lot of overlap and commonality between our two organisations, not only to accredit people but prepare them to engage with the world and flourish more broadly.”

This MOU builds on a strong relationship enjoyed by the two organisations over many years and serves as a starting point to explore further partnership opportunities in the future.

To find out more about Bedforfd see:

Bedford College – https://www.bedford.edu.au/