The NSW Government will spend $11.6 million over four years expanding its Educational Pathways Program into 24 more public high schools and three more regions, opening school-based apprenticeships, traineeships and vocational courses to an extra 7,500 students a year from 2027.
The funding was reported by Infrastructure Magazine, which said the program currently runs across 183 public high schools in 11 regions and will grow to 207 schools under the expansion. It connects students with career guidance, work experience in industry settings, and VET pathways including school-based apprenticeships and traineeships.
Commencing school-based vocational enrolments in NSW public schools rose 36.5 per cent, from 29,005 students in 2024 to 39,605 in 2025, according to figures the NSW Government supplied to Infrastructure Magazine. That’s the number the $11.6 million is chasing: demand that’s already there.
Where the 24 new schools land
Seven of the new schools are in the Central West and Orana, seven in the Camden region, eight in southern NSW and two in south-west Sydney.
That spread matters more than the dollar figure. School-based apprenticeships live or die on whether there’s a local employer willing to sign the paperwork, and a kid in Dubbo or Camden can’t host with a builder three hours away. Putting the program into schools in growth corridors and regional centres is a bet that the host employers are close enough to make it work.
The expansion sits inside what the NSW Government describes as a $3.46 billion investment in skills, training and TAFE NSW in the 2026-27 Budget. More detail on the program sits with the NSW Department of Education.
”Not every student wants to follow the same path”
NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said the program was about giving students an option that isn’t an ATAR.
“Not every student wants to follow the same path after school, and that’s exactly why the Educational Pathways Program is so important in setting up our kids for future success,” Whan said.
He linked the pathways directly to the industries doing the heavy lifting in the state’s build program. “Those pathways can lead to rewarding, secure jobs in key industries like construction, clean energy, agriculture and manufacturing that our economy depends on.”
“Those pathways can lead to rewarding, secure jobs in key industries like construction, clean energy, agriculture and manufacturing that our economy depends on.”
Whan also framed the money as workforce supply for the projects already committed. “As we deliver more homes, major infrastructure and renewable energy projects across NSW, it’s critical we have enough skilled workers in the pipeline, and this $11.6 million boost will help with exactly that,” he said.
What it looks like from the employer’s side of the ute
For a small builder or a two-van electrical outfit, a school-based apprentice is a different proposition to a full-time first-year. The student is still finishing school, so you’re getting them part of the week rather than every day, and you’re getting them before they’ve decided what they want to do with themselves.
The upside is the one every boss who’s been burned by a bad first-year understands: you find out early whether the kid turns up, whether they listen on a set-out, and whether they can keep a site tidy without being told twice. Plenty of small firms treat the school-based stage as the try-before-you-buy that a formal indenture doesn’t give you, and BCN’s apprentice wages guide has typical first-year rates for weighing that trade-off.
The trade-off is supervision. A 16-year-old on a live site is not a productivity gain in year one, and the time cost lands on whoever’s running the crew. Employers taking on under-18s should check their obligations with SafeWork NSW rather than assuming the school has it covered.
What to watch
The classroom side doesn’t change until 2027, and the students starting a school-based apprenticeship then won’t be signing off as qualified tradespeople for years after that. This is the front of a very long pipe.
The number worth tracking isn’t enrolments, which is what programs like this get measured on. It’s completions, and how many of the 7,500 extra students a year end up with a signed indenture at a local employer rather than a certificate and no job. If you’re a builder in Camden, southern NSW or the Central West and Orana wondering where your next apprentice comes from, the schools in your patch are about to start asking whether you’ll host one.
One caveat on the figures: the enrolment growth, the $3.46 billion budget line and the school counts all come from the NSW Government via Infrastructure Magazine, and BCN has not been able to match them against a second published source.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NSW Educational Pathways Program?
It’s a NSW Government program that connects public high school students with career guidance, industry work experience and VET pathways, including school-based apprenticeships and traineeships.
Which regions get the 24 new schools?
Seven of the new schools are in the Central West and Orana, seven in the Camden region, eight in southern NSW and two in south-west Sydney.
When does the expansion start?
The program grows from 183 to 207 public high schools from 2027, under a four-year, $11.6 million funding commitment.
Do employers need special approval to host a school-based apprentice?
The article doesn’t detail a formal approval process, but notes employers taking on under-18s should check their obligations with SafeWork NSW.
Sourced from Infrastructure Magazine. Original article.
