Preparing rural and regional students for the future world of work: Developing authenticcareer focussed curriculum through a collaborative partnership model

Small places are not devoid ofopportunities nor of successful programs toequip them forthe future, despite perception to the contrary (West, 2013). This paper considers careereducation inthe context of rural placesin the modern globalised world. The paper introduces the Pathways to Success project,involving more than eighty initiatives mapped to the Australian curriculum showcasing further education, training and careersin localindustries tomore than 8000 learners and their schools and teachers in Tasmania. It outlines howa partnership model among schools, industry, technical and vocational, andhigher educationsectors can be used to move from a sole dependencymodel to a partnership model of career education. Drawingon the project’s mixed methodevaluationresults, the paper considers the key opportunities and challenges for preparing ruralandregionalTasmanian students for the future world of work. It focuses on how collaborativepartnershipscanbetter equipeducators with information and networks they need topositively impacton how young rural and regional Tasmanianstudents consider educationpathways and career options to getto ‘what’s next’ intheir lives. It showcases how rural andregionalcommunitiesandresources can beused to develop new and innovative place based careerandcurriculum learning