The first group of year 12 students to graduate from one of South Australia's groundbreaking technical colleges have been celebrated at an event in front of family and friends today.
The Findon Technical College graduation was attended by Minister for Education, Training and Skills Blair Boyer, representatives of employer partners, teachers and other dignitaries.
All of the graduates are moving on to further study, apprenticeships, traineeships or other industry aligned employment.
They are fast-tracking their careers into key industry sectors in South Australia where there is high workforce demand – learning and developing their skills alongside the employer partners while at the college and are now taking the next step into their career.
From the group of 33 students, 22 have career paths in place in advanced manufacturing and engineering – including working for leading defence industry employer BAE. Additionally, 11 students are on career pathways in the areas of health and social support or early childhood and education.
All of them have completed their VET qualifications and all but one student has already fully completed their SACE.
The students that commenced a higher education pathway have all completed their first year of their degree and are moving into the second year with Flinders University. Many of them are also working in the aligned industry while studying.
Findon Technical College, which opened in 2024, was the first of five technical colleges to open across the state, with all open for students next year.
Today's graduates will continue to be supported by staff at the college next year to ensure that they are making good progress in their career pathways.
The technical colleges are designed for students in years 10, 11 and 12. Students graduate with their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE), VET qualifications, practical work and employability skills plus real-world work experience.
This occurs through the colleges offering industry training programs that are co-designed with employer partners to give students the practical work skills that employers need. The model is unique in Australia and represents a State Government investment of $208.8 million.
While a significant number of Findon's graduates have gained employment with industry partners, others are embracing wider options, such as one student who moved from Roxby Downs to attend Findon and this year found work as a governess in rural Queensland and has continued to study Early Childhood and Education online.
Through additional innovative options there are also eight of the students studying at university or a nursing diploma simultaneously with their Year 12 studies – two students in engineering, four in health areas and two related to education.
While the application process is ongoing, already in 2026 across Years 10, 11 and 12, Findon Technical College has 21 students enrolled in Early Childhood, 31 in Health and 73 in Engineering.
As put by Blair Boyer
The Malinauskas Labor Government promised these students they would graduate into a career, and that's exactly what these students have got from attending a technical college.
This partnership between the State Government and leading industries that have previously struggled with staff shortages, has created an innovative pipeline of employees who will have key roles to play in the future economic prosperity of this state.
Today we are seeing the delivery of this vision in education and employment while celebrating the efforts of these young people, their families and their teachers.
As put by Georgette Elston, Head of Resourcing and Early Careers, BAE Systems Australia
Our trusted partnership with Findon Technical College is supporting students to develop essential and practical workplace skills.
These young people are now graduating equipped for lifelong and future-proof careers across the defence and broader manufacturing and engineering sectors.
Technical colleges also create a strong vocational pipeline into innovative careers and provide further opportunities for young South Australians to take advantage of the rapidly growing shipbuilding and sustainment industry.
As put by Student representative nursing student Kyetrel Burrows
The Tech College has provided us with direction and the proper education focused on the pathways we have aimed for.
Every piece of work is relevant and has fast-tracked us through.
So, our education is better, our qualifications and experience come sooner, and we start our careers earlier.
