It’s the beginning of the next one.
Everything we do — from your Certificate of General Education to your Individual Transition Plan to the FutureReady program — is designed with one goal in mind: making sure you leave with a clear, confident sense of where you’re headed and how to get there.
So what does that actually look like? Here are the pathways our students take most often.
Here are the pathways our students take most often.
TAFE is one of the most practical and accessible next steps for Youth Futures graduates. You can study everything from construction and hospitality to community services, early childhood education, business, and beyond. Courses range from short skill sets through to Certificate II, III, IV and Diploma level qualifications, and many lead directly into employment or further study.
The qualifications you earn at Youth Futures — including your Certificate II — can meet the entry requirements for many TAFE courses, meaning the work you’ve already done counts.
Jade*, a Year 10 student at our Midland campus, is already planning her next step. “I’ve almost finished my Cert II and next year I want to go to TAFE and study Animal Care,” she says. “They helped me with the TAFE application.”
An apprenticeship lets you earn while you learn. You work with a qualified tradesperson or employer, get paid, and come out the other side with a nationally recognised qualification. Apprenticeships are available across trades like construction, electrical, plumbing, automotive, and more, and typically take between two and four years to complete.
WA’s construction and infrastructure sectors are growing fast, and the demand for qualified tradespeople is real. An apprenticeship is one of the most direct routes into a stable, well-paid career — and it’s a path many of our students take.
Liam, a former Youth Futures student, is now completing a full-time plumbing apprenticeship. “I finally had an actual certificate — a form of education I could use,” he says. “I was just failing every class. So that was definitely a really proud moment for me.” He’s now set his sights on running his own plumbing business one day. Read Liam’s full story here.
Similar to apprenticeships, traineeships combine on-the-job training with a formal qualification, but they tend to be shorter in duration and cover a broader range of industries including retail, business administration, hospitality, and community services. If you want practical experience in a role while building credentials at the same time, a traineeship is a great next step straight out of school.
The short courses and certificates you build up during your time at Youth Futures don’t just look good on paper — they open real doors. A White Card gets you onto construction sites. A First Aid certificate is required for many roles working with people. An RSA opens up hospitality work. A barista course can get you a job this week.
These credentials are practical, stackable, and genuinely valued by employers in WA’s growing industries. And the good news is, you’ve already started building them.
One of the things that sets Youth Futures apart is that you don’t leave without a plan. Every student has an Individual Transition Plan, built with your teacher, youth worker, and wellbeing team. It maps out where you want to go and the specific steps to get there. It grows and changes as you do.
As Paul Jones, our Principal, puts it: “We’ve never believed there’s one way to get somewhere worth going. Our job is to make sure every young person who comes to us can see the path that fits them — whether that’s TAFE, a trade, a traineeship, or something else entirely. The goal is always the same: a future they actually want to be part of.”
For Year 11 and 12 Youth Futures Community School students, the FutureReady program takes this even further.
It combines hands-on industry training with nationally recognised qualifications — White Card, First Aid, RSA, driving lessons — alongside TAFE visits, trade taster days, and career expos.
You leave not just with credentials, but with a clear sense of what comes next and real connections to help you get there.
Your time at Youth Futures Community School is building something. Every qualification, every skill, every conversation with your youth worker or teacher is a step toward a future you actually want to be part of.
And when you’re ready for that next step, we’ll be right there with you.
