The STEM Industry School Partnership (SISP) program, which was established in Cessnock, was announced a winner in the NSW Minister's and Secretary's Awards for Excellence.

The awards showcase major contributions to school communities and acknowledge schools that have embraced innovative programs to turn around school results.

As part of its suite of regional STEM initiatives, the NSW Department of Education Secondary Education Learning and Teaching Directorate leads the STEM Industry School Partnerships (SISP) Program.

Delivered in association with Regional Development Australia offices and Academies of STEM Excellence, SISP builds a Kindergarten to Year 12 STEM education continuum, with an emphasis on the primary to secondary transition, and promotes pathways to STEM jobs for students across regional NSW.

SISP partners schools and industry to facilitate contextualised, job-specific STEM learning activities, and teacher professional development to improve STEM expert knowledge. It matches primary and secondary schools with region-specific industry partners and provides industry-specific technology programs to make classroom learning relevant and engaging.

Cessnock is home to the flagship SISP program, the Cessnock Academy of STEM Excellence (CASE), which involves Cessnock High School and its partner primary schools (Abermain, Cessnock, Cessnock East, Kearsley and Kitchener).

One of Australia's foremost experts in STEM education and SISP program leader, Dr Scott Sleap, is encouraging CASE students to think big about their future.

"It is a great honour that the SISP program has been acknowledged for excellence at these awards. This program, which began in Cessnock, is now being rolled out across NSW, with the support of our industry partners," Dr Sleap said.

"Major changes in student aspiration have been observed as a result of this program. We now have students aspiring to be pilots, engineers and doctors and our industry mentors are helping our students to achieve these dreams."

The recognition follows the previous week's Technology 4 Learning (T4L) award received by the Cessnock Academy of STEM Excellence (CASE) for being in leader in productivity and collaboration, one of just 10 awards recognising ICT excellence in NSW. It also follows the CASE being recognised as a finalist in two categories of the 2019 Australian Education Awards.

The 2018 SISP pilot program included Cessnock High, Crookwell High and Canobolas Rural Technology High School Learning Communities.

In 2019 the SISP program was expanded into five regions in NSW, reaching around 65 schools and engaging thousands of students. The SISP program is the NSW Department of Education's premier STEM Education initiative and will be expanded throughout NSW over the next three years.

Meanwhile, Cessnock City Council has forged a fresh partnership with the SISP will partner to champion how local government can play a leadership role in STEM education.

Council's new partnership focuses on how local industry and businesses are engaged in the education of young people. It aims to foster greater collaboration between local government, education and industry, and will result in greater workforce outcomes for local young people.

STEM literacy is predicted to be one of the most important skill attributes of a future workforce and was highlighted as a priority in the Cessnock City Skills Audit.

Council's acting economic development manager Rhiannon Stevens is excited about the partnership.

"We can't wait to connect local businesses to the technology, advanced training and support tools which are already being used in STEM education in our region's schools," Ms Stevens said.

The partnership will enable local businesses to access labs and workshops, such as industrial 3D printers, laser cutters, and CISCO cyber security training.

Advance Cessnock City has also pledged to connect high-performing students for mentoring with local business people and identify possible employment pathways.

For more information on the partnership, visit www.advancecessnock.com.au/stem.