Digital learner profile a 'passport' to future education and employment

NSW is set to lead the nation in developing a digital learner profile, with students invited to co-design their ‘education passport’.

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell and Minister for Digital and Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello visited Macarthur Girls High School to announce students would play a pivotal role in developing the service.

The profile will allow students to store and share the verified story of their academic and personal achievements in one digital place, a national first according to the Department of Education.

Mitchell said the digital learner profile would create continuity and ease for students to record their valuable learning experiences while at school.

“We know our students are more than the sum of their exam results and they want a reliable way to display all their experiences and achievements,” Mitchell said.

“I am inviting students and schools to be part of the design process, so that we can help them open doors to further study and employment.

Dominello said the learner profile formed part of a big vision for the establishment of a NSW education passport.

“An education passport would provide a digital record of a student’s achievements and accomplishments throughout their school journey, which can be shared with future employers, licensing authorities and tertiary institutions,” he said.

“Students graduating from NSW high schools in 2021 and beyond face a rapidly changing labour market, with a growing emphasis on digital skills and micro-credentials.

“Establishing a universal, digital record of educational attainment would assist students, career advisers and employers through a more efficient matching of skills to employment opportunities.

“It would be a boon for our state in terms of productivity, representing an important micro economic reform.”

A new app for parents and carers of NSW public school students has also been released to allow them to easily stay up to date with news and events at their children’s schools.

The app will eventually completely replace paper forms travelling to and from school via the bottom of the school bag.

Through the app, parents and carers will be able to receive push notifications from schools to their phones to ensure that they don’t miss any important news. It will also allow parents and carers with children at more than one NSW public school to get news and information from multiple schools in the same place. It is available from the Google Play and Apple app stores.

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