Six years ago, as Nambucca Valley’s Jill Ashley and Paul “Fatty” Ireland watched local young people disconnect from schools and jobs, they hatched a plan.
“We saw how kids were struggling with complicated systems that didn't suit their learning styles,” Ashley told the Mid North Coaster.
Time for change: Determined to offer an alternative to an education system that tends to the one-size-fits-all, the pair donated time and money to set up the ShoreTrack charity in 2020.
Last week, Ashley and Ireland received the 2027 NSW Local Hero gong in the Australian of the Year Awards.
The background: ShoreTrack works with young people aged 10-25 who are disengaged from, or struggling with, the school system or the job market, providing them a pathway to training, employment or further education.
The program started with 12 students, who attended a few days a week to learn practical trade and employment skills while still going to school.
“By the end of the year those students had either re-engaged in school or they had found work,” Ashley said.
The progress: Today, ShoreTrack offers vocational training in collaboration with Tocal Agricultural College in Paterson, and is home to Australia’s first “trade-based special assistance school” in Macksville.
The school launched this year, hosting 25 kids in years 9 and 10, with a focus on practical trade skills.
In 2027, the school will welcome 40 students.
Community backing: ShoreTrack has built relationships with a number of local employers, such as Express Coach Builders in Macksville, which have taken on program alumni when their vocational training is complete.
“Now we can offer a pathway from our school into the vocational qualifications, and then help them get into work,” Ashley said.
ShoreTrack also runs a social enterprise, employing 10 “trainees” to do jobs such as mowing, fencing and shed building.
Local mentors: Aside from teaching trade skills, ShoreTrack has a focus on “developing good character”, hiring local tradies to serve as role models to the students.
“It isn’t just about teaching them how to weld or do carpentry, it is also about getting up in the morning and being ready to come to work,” Ashley said.
So, does it work?: ShoreTrack says it has worked with 750 young people since 2020, and always has more referrals than available program spots.
Of those who have progressed through the ShoreTrack pathway into a job, about nine in 10 have stayed employed for at least two years.
Who’s paying?: ShoreTrack now receives state and federal funding for the school but relies on donations and grants to run vocational courses.
The charity will host a fundraiser in May 2027.