Our Work

TSIREC seeks to promote greater Torres Strait autonomy over education, training and employment through:

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Advocacy

TSIREC is a peak advocacy body for the Torres Strait. Elected representatives from every Torres Strait island community make up our membership. The key role played by our members is that of community empowerment and advocacy – both within their community and at a regional level.

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Essential Services Delivery

TSIREC works with other service providers to deliver a range of locally-managed programs and services. Together with YUMI Education Inc., TSIREC operates place-based services to the Torres Strait. These services include programs spanning from the early years to adulthood.

Advocacy

 

The Council is accountable to the Torres Strait Nation to engage with and represent individual communities on education, training and employment agendas. At least biannually, TSIREC brings together all elected community representatives to set targets for improvement and strategies for monitoring progress.

Local Representation

At an individual community level, TSIREC supports local engagement with education, training and employment service providers. Members provide valuable support to the development of place-based solutions that reflect the unique geographical and cultural context of their community.

Government Partnership

Through the Council, TSIREC facilitates partnerships between community members and government agencies so that strategic priorities, targets and strategies for education, training and employment service delivery can be established.

Regional Education Training and Employment Roundtables

Since 2002, TSIREC has coordinated annual Regional Education Training and Employment Roundtables under a successive Memorandums of Understanding with State and Federal Governments.

These Roundtables have become established as the peak forum responsible for evaluating the education, training and employment priorities and services for the Torres Strait Nation.

The objectives of the RETER is to:

  • provide advice and representation to the State and Federal Governments, through senior agency officers representing education, training and employment

  • develop key action areas to achieve the Torres Strait Nations’ education, training and employment priorities in accordance with the State and National COAG Indigenous Reform Agreement targets

  • provide a forum through which the Parties report on negotiated performance data, and

  • assess the efficiency and effectiveness of educational, training and employment strategies endorsed by the RETER.

We work to ensure that every child in the Torres Strait is guaranteed a Prapa Pathway from early education to full quality economic participation.

Services Delivery

 

Since 2012, TSIREC has partnered with YUMI Education Inc, state schools, and other charities to provide community-based education support services that meet the needs and aspirations of families and their children.

Through these partnerships, TSIREC supports a suite of services from the early years to Year 12 to ensure all young people in the Torres Strait achieve a “Prapa Pathway”.

A “Prapa Pathway” ensures all young people of the Torres Strait engage in, and seamlessly transition between, education, training and employment services to achieve quality employment.

These services are divided into three program streams:

  1. Strait START (early years)

  2. Strait SMART (school years)

  3. Strait STRONG (training and adult education)