AS GOVERNMENTS at all levels continue their push to develop northern Australia, myriad ideas and proposals about what will drive the growth will undoubtedly be tabled.
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In this column last week, I wrote that the Northern Territory government would be remiss to put all its eggs in the resources basket and suggested instead that other sectors – including education – held the key to long-term, sustainable growth.
While education has already been discussed at length as a way to profit from the NT’s proximity to a cashed-up south-east Asian student body, we also have an opportunity to become a national and international leader in vocational training.
The idea might seem a little bit left field but it is one that could pay dividends for Katherine.
The Katherine region already does things pretty well when it comes to trades.
The Katherine campus of Charles Darwin University is running a program that has the potential to set the standard in how apprenticeships are delivered in the 21st century.
From an individual perspective, Katherine apprentice Taylor Fishlock has just collected some electrical industry silverware ahead of other finalists from major centres including Darwin and Adelaide.
We need to embrace the vocational training platform we already have in place and combine it with our closeness to the agriculture, tourism, mining and transport sectors, all of which will need thousands of trained workers over the coming decades.
When our elected officials sit down to map out what role education will play in the growth of the NT, they need to remember that education is not just about mortarboards, testamurs and six-figure international tuition fees.
