For the fourth year running, ALPA's Work Experience Program has given East Arnhem Land students a chance to step out of the classroom and into real-world industries.

This year, 20 students from Ramingining, Galiwin’ku, and Gapuwiyak joined the program, spending the week with various organisations across Darwin, including:

• NAAJA
• First Nations Broadcasting
• Selena Uibo's Office 
• Darwin Community Legal Service
• Stratco
• Australian Defence Force.

Four students also spent time at the ALPA Darwin Support Office, getting involved with different teams across the business.

A huge thanks to all the host organisations for their generosity and commitment in helping shape the next generation of community leaders. Their support for the program makes a real difference.

"Students work hard in school to build language, literacy, numeracy, and digital skills, but they don’t always see how these translate into work environments beyond their community. This program helps bridge that gap by showing students how their classroom learning applies to the workplace, giving them insight into diverse career paths." - Eddy Alder, Community Engagement Manager. 

Parliament House: A week with Opposition Leader Selena Uibo

Keshayla from Gapuwiyak School joined Selena Uibo's Office for the program. Spending time at Parliament House, Keshayla got an insight into the world of politics and how decisions made in government can influence everyday life. Keshayla also helped Ms Uibo's team get ready for the next Parliament sittings by drafting a speech about issues that are impacting her community. We can't wait to hear it!

Behind the scenes at First Nations Broadcasting 

Students Max (Gapuwiyak School) and Harvey (Ramingining School) had the opportunity to dive into TV and radio production at First Nations Broadcasting, learning practical skills in media, storytelling and technical production. They worked alongside experienced mentors, who shared their knowledge and guided them throughout the week. 

Stratco joins as a new work experience host 

We were thrilled to welcome Stratco as a new work experience host this year. Their team was excited to work with young people from the East Arnhem Land region and offer hands-on learning opportunities. Mackenzie and Ephriam from Gapuwiyak School took part in a mix of tasks, including fabrication and assembly of timber trusses, cutting and lacing chainmesh gates, and packing orders for remote deliveries.

"It was encouraging to see Mackenzie and Ephriam engaging with the team whilst learning new skills throughout our manufacturing operation...They were excited knowing they were working on projects that were being manufactured for ALPA (Bukmak Constructions) and trusses bound for their hometown of Gapuwiyak." - Craig Robinson, Stratco State Manager. 

"You could tell there was a sense of pride knowing they were involved in a small but important way of building their Country and surrounding regions." - Craig Robinson - Stratco State Manager. 

Stratco was grateful to be a part of the program and is looking forward to future opportunities to work with East Arnhem Land communities.

At the end of the work experience week, the Stratco team encouraged Mackenzie and Ephriam to reach out if they're ever in Darwin looking for work, keeping the door open for the future.