St Patrick's Technical College, (also referred to as St Pat's Tech, St Patrick's), is a

technical college An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

in the northern suburbs of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

's capital,

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Opened in 2007 by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

as part of the Australian Technical Colleges program, it now operates as part of Catholic Education SA. St Patrick's offers a technical focused senior

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

(Years 10, 11 and 12) and specialises in

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

programs for students who wish to include a School-based

Apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

(SbA) as part of their

South Australian Certificate of Education The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is awarded to students who have successfully completed their senior secondary schooling in the state of South Australia. The SACE Board of South Australia (formerly known as the Senior Seconda ...

(SACE).

History

Australian Technical College – Northern Adelaide (2007–2009)

The Australian Technical Colleges (ATCs) Program was established by the

Australian Federal Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...

in 2005. The Government established 24 ATCs across Australia to provide both

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and vocational technical education. The Government's announcement stated that "each of the 24 chosen regions had a strong industry base with an identified skills need as well as a high youth population". The program ceased on 31 December 2009. In 2005, the Australian Government selected a partnership between the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide and the Northern Adelaide Industry Group to establish and operate the Australian Technical College – Northern Adelaide. Australian Technical College – Northern Adelaide commenced operations with 100 students in temporary facilities at Bishopstone Road, Davoren Park, in January 2007. In May 2008, operations moved to a $12 million purpose-built specialist facility, catering for up to 350 students, at Hooke Road, Edinburgh North.

St Patrick's Technical College (2009– )

In July 2009, the College governance and ownership passed to the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools on behalf of the Archdiocese of Adelaide and was subsequently renamed St Patrick's Technical College. In commenting on the transfer, Director of Catholic Education SA, Jane Swift commented, "We highly value the partnerships formed with industry and the local community and are committed to continuing the educational opportunities technical colleges provide for young people." In August 2013, St Patrick's Technical College and

TAFE SA TAFE South Australia (TAFE SA) provides vocational education and training in the state of South Australia. History On 1 November 2012, TAFE SA became a statutory corporation, separate from the SA Government's Department of Further Education, E ...

signed a strategic partnership to deliver training as part of the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the highest ranking mem ...

''Skills for All'' initiative. 2020 is a breaking year for the college with the celebration of 1000 apprenticeship commencements since the college opened in 2007. By the year's end, the college's triumphs crushed the existing sign-up record of 90 apprenticeships, securing school-based and full-time apprenticeships for students across various trade industries. In 2021, the college expanded to offer Year 10. Opening its doors for the first time to Year 10 students eager to start their trade-focused secondary education and training options. In August 2021, St Patrick’s Technical College signed VET Agreements with new training providers to deliver quality training and assessment of the college’s VET programs for 2022. Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) PEER, Motor Trade Association (MTA), Adelaide Institute of Hospitality, and Adelaide Training & Employment Centre (ATEC) joined TAFE SA to provide exciting opportunities for students.

Programs

St Patrick’s Technical College is South Australia's only stand-alone Year 10 to 12 vocational education college. The college offers eight pre-apprenticeship trade programs, including Automotive, Construction, Electrotechnology, Food and Hospitality, Hair and Beauty, Information Technology, Metals and Engineering, and Plumbing.

Curriculum

The St Patrick's Technical College SACE curriculum has been developed specifically to support the trades in which pre-vocational training is delivered. Core subjects (e.g. Mathematics, English, Science) are contextualised for each specific trade program with content input from industry in association with

. In addition, a minimum of six weeks of structured

Work Experience Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an ani ...

is incorporated into the formal subject of ''Workplace Practices''.

Advanced Technology Project

St Patrick’s Technical College is the Curriculum Focus School for the ''Advanced Technology Project'', an initiative funded from the Australian Government by the Department of Defence and managed by the Department for Education and Child Development (DECD). The Advanced Technology Project combines secondary school studies that have a specific focus on high level maths and science with highly technical Vocational Education and Training (VET). This combination provides a training pathway towards achieving a nationally recognised vocational accreditation and the SACE at the same time.

Facilities

Automotive-Workshop-A.jpg, Automotive Workshop Automotive-Workshop-B.jpg, Automotive Workshop StPatsTech-Kitchen.jpg, Commercial Kitchen Construction-Workshop.jpg, Construction Workshop Electrical-Lab.jpg, Electrical Workshop Engineering-Workshop-A.jpg, Engineering Workshop Engineering-Workshop-B.jpg, Engineering Workshop Plumbing-Workshop.jpg, Plumbing Workshop

Awards

Institutional Awards

2019

* South Australian Training Awards – Finalist, VET Innovation for Schools Award

2018

* South Australian Training Awards – Finalist (with PMB Defence, Saab Australia, Century Engineering, TAFE SA and Defence Teaming Centre), Industry Collaboration Award - Northern Adelaide P-TECH Australia

2014

* National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) – Commendation, Skills Development - Developing Apprenticeship Skills in Northern Adelaide

2013

* South Australian Training Awards – Finalist (with DECD), Industry Collaboration Award – Applied Engineering program (Advanced Technologies Industry Pathways Program)

2011

* Schools First Local Impact Award –

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

program (Building & Construction)http://www.schoolsfirst.edu.au/2011-schools/st-patricks-technical-college

2010

* South Australian Training Awards – Finalist, VET in Schools Excellence Award –

program (Building & Construction) * South Australian Training Awards – Finalist (with

Rostrevor College Rostrevor College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, founded in 1923, located in Woodforde, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, approximately from the Adelaide city centre. The school was es ...

), VET in Schools Excellence Award, Indigenous program

References

{{Reflist

External links

St Patrick's Technical College website
Catholic schools in Adelaide High schools in South Australia