Throughout the period 1997-99 DETE schools were engaged in familiarising themselves with Vocational Learning in a variety of ways:

1. A comprehensive program to integrate the Key Competencies into teaching and learning in all schools was implemented. This involved: familiarisation programs for all school principals, production of a training pack for teachers, a comprehensive train-the-trainer program attended by approximately 1000 teachers, and a raft of small project grants to approximately 100 schools to assist them to further explore the Key Competencies in their own contexts.
2. Enterprise Education was trialed in six clusters of schools over a two year period. The clusters were funded to progress approaches to enterprise education and to share their findings with the system. The results of their work have helped to shaped the directions of DETE’s new Enterprise and Vocational Education team.
3. Each school district was provided with funding to explore approaches to Career Education, and to develop programs. A number of districts linked this activity to their work with the Key Competencies.
4. Each school district was also provided with funding [to supplement ASTF funding] to facilitate effective coordination of students into structured work placements.
5. The outcomes of the above mentioned initiatives, and of others, are being built upon by the work of the Enterprise and Vocational Team. This team has been created through direct government funding to address a range of issues in relation to the transition of students from school to work or to further education and training. Issues include: increasing student skill levels in generic work related competencies that are valued by business and industry; facilitating the provision of quality career education services by external providers; increasing the quality of Structured Workplace Learning opportunities; expanding the opportunities for Part-time New Apprenticeships for School Students; promoting and facilitating the involvement of business, industry and the wider community in the provision of Vocational Education in schools. The focus of the Enterprise and Vocational Team encompasses all year levels, although activity related to Structured Workplace Learning and VET courses is generally focussed on students in the post-compulsory years.
6. Vocational Learning outcomes are being explicitly identified in the new South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework. A key accountability feature will be the re-development of the Student Personal Portfolio that will, for the first time, provide students and teachers with the opportunity to articulate evidence of a student’s achievements in generic skills, competencies and attributes. Such articulation will require evidence to be drawn from a range of sources, including out-of-school experiences such as part-time work and community involvement.