“Since the year 2000, across a range of measures, the performance of Australian schools has fallen against international benchmarks, and businesses are finding it even harder to fill vacant positions,” said Mid North Coast NSW Business Chamber Regional Manager, Kellon Beard.

“With Youth unemployment in the Mid North Coast Region at 12.9% (average for the past 12 months), there is no time to waste we need to move on these changes to ensure the future of our youth.

“Our school system is failing too many young people and is a handbrake on the potential of our economy and business across a range of sectors. It’s clear the educational outcomes required from our school system are not being achieved and both our young people, and the economy, is suffering,” Mr Beard said.

In 2017, the NSW Business Chamber released its Old School/New School: Transforming school education for the 21 st century Report Developed in consultation with business and education leaders, teachers, parents and, importantly, students themselves.

Old School/New School called for a radical rethink of our approach to school education to properly prepare our kids for a satisfying career and life after school.

“The Chamber has highlighted the need for a school system that provides better support for teachers, more flexible models of learning and which provides a range of learning pathways including a greater focus on vocational education training.

“A lot of local business complain to me that school leavers do not have the soft skills that are required in the workplace and this is something that needs to be addressed” Mr Beard said.

“The Gonski 2.0 proposals to develop an independent national body to assess educational approaches, empowering teachers and principals with a greater ability to focus on individual student attainment and providing a more flexible senior curriculum with apprenticeships and work experience is the shake up our school system needs to deliver better outcomes,” Mr Beard said.