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| STUDENTWORKS: MANAGEMENT & ORGANISATION |
The beginning
Set up in 1978, The Launceston Student Workshop Inc. was the brainchild
of a special education teacher, Marjorie Knox. Her work at Brooks High
School led her to believe that some school students were slipping
through the cracks of the conventional school system. They needed, she
believed, an intensive practical education if they were going to move
smoothly from school to work.
Mrs Knox obtained an innovations grant from the Schools Commission,
which paid for the setting up of a manufacturing workshop in the
disused Kelsall & Kemp building. By 1982 the workshop needed more
space and moved to the unoccupied Jonette Furniture building in
Rocherlea. As an innovative factory and educational centre, it has
become a national leader.
The workshop
"We are embedded in local economics. Apart from our survival, if you lose economically, the kids see through you."
-
Michael Brown, Workshop Manager
"You
have to produce items that are labour intensive but where there is no
competition. You can't compete with people you want to take your
students in the end."
- Jack Bennett, Treasurer |
The workshop's products are chosen with great care so that Tasmanian
businesses do not have the unfair competition of student labour. For
example, Studentworks chose to make cots because they were not
manufactured in Tasmania.
The Board
"Every
Board member is an enthusiast about the workshop. As a group I believe
we are very understanding and together have a wealth of knowledge. We
have never had a difficult Board member, not in 27 years."
- Ray Sellars, Board member |
The workshop is governed by a board. The board members are local
employers, union members, education representatives, a Rotarian, an
accountant and a person from the local Employment Advisory Committee.
The Board meets every two months.
Long term Board members Jack Bennett and Ray Sellars describe the
sensitivity of appointing the first Board members. It was vital to
include union representatives and local employers because the workshop
was using unpaid labour. This sensitivity remains.
Funding
The workshop is about 64% self-funded from the sale of their products.
This can never reach 100% because of high instructor costs (a bit under
40%). These costs are met by a grant from the Tasmanian education
department (under the Sundry Miscellaneous Grants Scheme) and
Commonwealth/State Disability Agreement (CSDA) funding. CSDA funding
applies because many students would be on disability pensions if they
did not gain full time open employment on completion of the program.
Insurance
"Like a lot of what we do, we don't fit into any existing box."
-
Jack Bennett, Treasurer |
Because the workshop is not paying students there is no Workers'
Compensation cover. Management negotiated with the Tasmanian government
and established a special insurance cover using the precedent of
government insurance cover for students out of schools on work
experience.
Visitors are resources
All visitors to Studentworks are considered resources. They give
students opportunities to get to know a wide range of people and to
practise communicating with them. Staff and students take trouble to
win them over to the program. Linda Farrington keeps contact details of
all visitors, knowing from experience that she might call on them for
support or information in the future.
Staff
Real responsibility
"If you genuinely give people responsibility, you can't pull it back when it doesn't suit you."
- Linda Farrington |
Accountability is more than tokenism at Studentworks and instructors
are genuinely accountable for their work, even if management does not
see eye to eye with them on a particular matter.
The right people
"We find the right people, then work out how to use them."
-
Linda Farrington |
Management is constantly looking out for people with the character and
mind-set to work at Studentworks. These qualities come before
qualifications.
Marketing students to employers
Studentworks works closely with youth services, employment agencies and
individual employers. They actively market their students to local
employers. The students are very much in demand for employment: they
are young, but their skills and trade qualifications and 'work
readiness' put them ahead of other school leavers. There was initial
concern that Studentworks' students would be 'cannon fodder' for entry
level jobs but this hasn’t proved to be the case.
Community and industry partnerships
Studentworks' partnerships with industry and the community have two
main functions: they lead directly to jobs for students and they make
the whole program sustainable because Studentworks has 'respect in the
bank'.
"'An
essential element in this partnership approach is having 'respect in
the bank'. Asking for help …. up front is treated with cynicism and
suspicion unless your relationship with the individual or organisation
already has some mutual currency of respect. Any and every connection
has to be … nurtured because you never know when you need to 'cash in'
that respect by asking a favour"
- From Studentworks: meeting student needs by Linda Farrington |
The partnership philosophy extends to visitors and strangers.
Over the years there has also been support from the three tiers of
government and all political parties, government departments and local
businesses. When needed these disparate supporters 'pull together'. An
example was Studentworks' re-location in 2000. Launceston Council and
Worksafe Tasmania smoothed the process and the community, local
employers, students and staff gave up their free time to become
removalists.
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