Young Rawiri Korewha spent most of his time riding motocross on his dirt bike when he should have been in school in Tom Price. Even when he was there he fell asleep in class. It wasn’t that he was a bad person; merely bored. So he got a lot of behaviour warnings.

Then along came Pilbara Pathways Partnership (PPP) and Rawiri saw the possibilities it offered and, as he says, “got with the programme.”

In his final year at school Rawiri received no behaviour warnings and had 100 per cent attendance. Now he’s a star apprentice with Pilbara Iron.

The initiative for the PPP programme was prompted, not only by the poor academic performance, high levels of truancy and low retention rate at Tom Price High School, but also the poor level of apprenticeship applications coming to Pilbara Iron.

“Many kids,” says Ian Randell, Pilbara Iron’s Apprentice Training Superintendent, “thought because their parents worked at Pilbara Iron it would be easy get an apprenticeship. They didn’t bother applying themselves and we weren’t getting quality applicants.”

Pilbara Iron workshop apprentices

So in August 2004 Pilbara Iron, along with the high school, Apprenticeships Western Australia and Pilbara TAFE, signed a Memorandum of Understanding initiating PPP.

“Since then,” enthuses Lesley Hardingham, Principal of Tom Price Senior High School, “truancy and behaviour problems have dropped by more than 50 per cent and in 2004 we had a 100 per cent Year 12 graduation. This is one of the most improved schools in the State.”

The emphasis of PPP is on students learning to become what Ian calls “a virtual employee.”

“Year 11 and 12 students,” he says, “must perform as if they’re at work. They are tested for drugs and alcohol and assessed on their academic performance and attendance. The students learn to write application letters and undergo interviews and aptitude tests. But we train them; we even video their mock interviews so they can see where they need to improve.”

“Students in PPP,” Lesley adds, “are now motivated to come to school because it relates to their lives, while the younger students are desperate to get into the programme. This is a win-win programme for all four partners.”

And for Rawiri too. “It’s a cool programme,” he says. “Kinda got me thinking about my future.”

And does he still do motocross?

“Sometimes,” he replies, “though these days I’m pretty busy learning to be a mechanical fitter.”