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Educational context, pathway coordination, wellbeing support, career guidance and family connection.
Connect School, Training, Work and Enterprise
NEXIE STEP School Partnership Suite
VET, SBAT and Youth Enterprise Implementation
Help students turn vocational learning into capability, meaningful work and an enterprise pathway.
The Suite provides school-facing implementation, educator preparation and learner-application resources that connect formal training with each student’s purpose, capacity and future pathway.
A Connected Youth Pathway
More than completing
a VET course.
Students may complete training without seeing how it connects with who they are, how they prefer to work or what they could do next. STEP links purpose, strengths, vocational learning, workplace experience, community opportunity and enterprise capability.
- Employment
- Further education or training
- School-based apprenticeship or traineeship
- Supported workplace experience
- Self-employment
- Youth microenterprise
- Future Neuropreneur pathway
- Appropriate future Productised Service pathway
The STEP Model
School → Training → Employment
→ Possibility
The pathway does not replace the RTO, employer, training contract, school curriculum or formal SBAT requirements. It helps the parts work together.
Training
The approved RTO delivers and assesses the nationally recognised qualification.
Employment and Workplace Learning
An employer or host provides appropriate experience, supervision and, where applicable, paid employment.
Possibility
The Business Blueprint connects learning and experience with purpose, enterprise, further training and future contribution.
What the School Partnership Suite Includes
The implementation resources behind
a connected pathway.
Partnership scope is adapted to the school, cohort, selected qualifications, RTO governance, employer arrangements and learner-support requirements.
School Readiness and Pathway Planning
Define the cohort, qualifications, RTO arrangements, school roles, employer requirements, student supports, family communication, risks and progression outcomes.
Teacher and Facilitator Preparation
Prepare teachers and pathway personnel to understand STEP, guide Blueprint application, support different learner profiles and coordinate appropriately with RTOs, employers and families.
Student Business Blueprint
Guide students through Purpose, Capacity, Opportunity, Enterprise Idea, Business Model, Ethics and Boundaries, Pathway, Launch and Impact.
Qualification Application
Provide a connected context for applying vocational learning to customers, opportunities, enterprise design, finance, marketing, risk, service delivery and improvement.
Workplace and Employer Connection
Structure communication between the student, school, family, RTO, employer, supervisor and relevant pathway stakeholders.
Individual Learner Support
Begin with the person and consider accessible materials, smaller steps, visual pathways, mentoring, co-regulation, workplace adjustments and referral.
Productised Service Exploration
Help students explore whether an appropriate NEXIE service connects with their interests, capability and intended field—without conferring delivery authority.
Pilot, Reflection and Progression
Where appropriate and approved, support a small controlled pilot with safeguarding, supervision, legal, insurance and intellectual-property boundaries.
Student Business Blueprint
Nine stages from purpose to
practical impact.
Students build one connected enterprise direction, then apply relevant learning through an idea, pathway or controlled pilot.
Explore the NEXIE Business Blueprint ↗Individual Learner Support
Begin with the person before
deciding the pathway.
Students bring different histories, strengths, communication preferences, functional capacities, cultures, support requirements and levels of confidence.
They are not required to disclose diagnoses, trauma histories or sensitive personal information to explore learning and working preferences.
- Accessible learning materials
- Smaller steps
- Visual pathways
- Guided reflection
- Co-regulation
- Workplace adjustments
- Family partnership
- Additional learning support
- Appropriate referral
Teacher Pathways
Know what to teach.
Know how to guide application.
One person may perform more than one role only where the required capability and authorisation are held—and the responsibilities remain documented.
School-Based VET Trainer and Assessor
A suitably authorised teacher or trainer may deliver and assess the formal qualification under RTO governance and applicable trainer, assessor and vocational requirements.
NEXIE Blueprint Facilitator
A prepared teacher, careers practitioner or approved facilitator may guide proprietary Blueprint learning without making competency decisions unless separately authorised by the RTO.
STEP Pathway Coordinator
A designated coordinator connects timetable, supports, the RTO, employers, workplace learning, families, Blueprint progress and post-school pathways.
Student Mentor or Go-To Person
A trusted adult provides structured check-ins, relational support and navigation without replacing counselling, therapy, clinical care or formal case management.
Possible School Models
Begin with the structure that
fits the school.
Schools can select a bounded model rather than attempting every component at once.
VET Application Model
A VET qualification with the Business Blueprint used to apply enterprise learning to an individual idea or pathway.
SBAT Pathway Model
School, approved RTO training and paid employment connected through a formal School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship.
Enterprise Cohort Model
A student group completes the Blueprint with a prepared school facilitator while the RTO retains formal delivery and assessment responsibilities.
Early School-Leaver Pathway
Vocational learning, capability development, mentoring, workplace exposure and enterprise exploration for eligible students.
Multi-School Hub Model
Schools share a partner RTO, prepared facilitators, employer relationships, digital learning and coordinated pathway support.
Productised Service Exploration
Explore a field without
conferring delivery rights.
Students may consider ECHOS, LAMAHS, NEUROPREP, CARIE, Kidspired, MUMspired, NEXIE IN, TRACED, SYMBEB-informed services or future pathways as possible contexts.
Service learning, professional preparation, commercial-use rights, field requirements and licences remain separately governed.
Productised Services are presented as future pathway examples. Student exploration does not provide access to protected materials, commercial delivery rights or authority to deliver a service. Age, capability, safeguarding, qualifications, supervision and field-specific requirements apply.
Partnership Responsibilities
One pathway.
Clearly defined roles.
Nationally recognised training is delivered and assessed by the relevant approved partner RTO.
- STEP implementation architecture
- NEXIE Business Blueprint
- School and learner resources
- Facilitator preparation
- Portable learning and guidance
- Relevant resource-use rights
- Student selection and support
- Curriculum, timetable and approvals
- Family communication and duty of care
- Student safety and welfare
- Participation monitoring
- Coordination and school records
- Formal enrolment
- Trainer and assessor requirements
- Training and assessment strategy
- Evidence and competency decisions
- Student records and compliance
- Qualification or statement issuance
- Appropriate work and induction
- Supervision
- Workplace health and safety
- Lawful employment arrangements
- Required records and feedback
- Agreement responsibilities
Partnership and Access Models
Agree how the pathway
will be resourced.
The partnership agreement identifies who funds NEXIE access, teacher preparation and implementation support. Students are not assumed to purchase institutional resources.
- School or school-network licence
- RTO partnership agreement
- Department or regional initiative
- Employment-services program
- Youth-transition program
- Industry or employer partnership
- Philanthropic or community funding
- Multi-school hub
- Jointly funded pathway
Connected RTO resources
Align school implementation with the
Enterprise Applied Learning Suite.
The school-facing STEP Suite works alongside RTO contextualisation, trainer guidance and current qualification mapping—not in place of them.
Questions and Answers
Understand the STEP pathway
before implementation.
Is STEP a nationally recognised qualification?+
No. STEP and the NEXIE Business Blueprint are proprietary learning, application and pathway-development resources.
They may be used alongside relevant nationally recognised training under an agreed arrangement with an approved partner RTO. They are not qualifications and do not replace nationally recognised training.
Nationally recognised training is delivered and assessed by the relevant approved partner RTO.
Does the school have to become an RTO?+
No. A school can participate through an arrangement with an approved RTO that has the appropriate training product on its scope of registration.
The agreed partnership must identify who is responsible for training, assessment, student support, workplace coordination, records and regulatory compliance.
If a school is itself an approved RTO with the required scope, it remains responsible for meeting all applicable RTO requirements.
Can any teacher assess the VET qualification?+
No. Formal assessment can only be undertaken by people who satisfy the applicable trainer, assessor, vocational-competency, industry-currency and RTO-governance requirements.
The partner RTO remains responsible for confirming who is authorised to train and assess, approving assessment tools and making or governing competency decisions.
Completing STEP preparation or NEXIE Blueprint learning does not independently authorise a teacher to assess nationally recognised training.
Can a teacher facilitate the Business Blueprint without assessing VET units?+
Yes, where the school and NEXIE access arrangement authorise that role and the teacher has completed the applicable facilitator preparation.
A Blueprint facilitator may guide reflection, enterprise application and pathway development without assessing VET competency.
If Blueprint activities are proposed as evidence for a qualification, the partner RTO must review their suitability and determine how the evidence will be collected, authenticated and assessed.
Does every student need an SBAT employer?+
No. STEP can support different school and youth pathway models.
A student completing a formal School Based Apprenticeship or Traineeship must have the employment, training-contract and other arrangements required for that pathway. Other students may participate through a VET application model, enterprise cohort, supported workplace-learning pathway or another approved school arrangement without undertaking an SBAT.
Participation requirements are confirmed for the particular model before students begin.
Who pays for the NEXIE Suite?+
Students are not automatically expected to purchase institutional STEP resources.
The school-partnership agreement identifies how NEXIE access, teacher preparation, learner resources and implementation support will be funded. Depending on the arrangement, this may involve a school or network, partner RTO, department or region, employment-service provider, youth-transition program, employer, industry partner, community funder or jointly funded initiative.
The existence of a possible funding pathway does not guarantee eligibility or funding approval.
Does STEP guarantee employment or business income?+
No. STEP supports students to connect learning with capability, workplace experience, further training and enterprise exploration.
It does not guarantee an SBAT placement, employment, customers, business income, qualification completion or access to a Productised Service.
Outcomes depend on the student’s participation, training requirements, capability, available opportunities, employer arrangements and the decisions of the organisations responsible for each pathway.
Can STEP support students who need additional learning assistance?+
Yes. The pathway can incorporate accessible materials, smaller learning steps, visual supports, guided reflection, mentoring, co-regulation, family partnership and reasonable workplace or learning adjustments.
Students are not required to disclose a diagnosis, trauma history or other unnecessary sensitive information to explore their functional preferences and support needs.
Schools, RTOs and employers retain their respective responsibilities for accessibility, student support, safeguarding, privacy and appropriate referral.
Can STEP be used with early school leavers?+
Potentially. STEP can contribute to an approved early school-leaver, alternative-learning, youth-transition or supported enterprise pathway.
Participation must be established through an appropriate school, RTO, employment, community or youth-service arrangement. Age, eligibility, consent, safeguarding, education-participation and training requirements must be confirmed for the individual pathway.
Can students deliver a NEXIE Productised Service?+
Not automatically.
Students may explore Productised Services as examples of possible future fields, audiences and enterprise directions. Exploration does not provide protected resources, facilitator status, certification or commercial delivery rights.
Any later delivery pathway depends on the student’s age, capability, qualifications, experience, professional scope, safeguarding arrangements, service-specific preparation and applicable NEXIE licence.
Can students run a pilot business or service?+
A controlled pilot may be considered only where it is age-appropriate and expressly approved by the organisations responsible for the student and activity.
The pilot must define supervision, consent, safeguarding, legal structure, insurance, financial arrangements, intellectual-property use, participant access and professional boundaries.
A classroom enterprise activity is not automatically an authorised public or professional service.
What does the school receive through a STEP partnership?+
The agreed resource schedule may include:
- A STEP School Implementation Map
- Teacher and facilitator preparation
- A Teacher and Facilitator Delivery Guide
- Student Business Blueprint resources
- Qualification-application activities for RTO review
- Workplace-readiness and pathway-review resources
- Individual learner-support guidance
- Productised Service exploration resources
- Progression and 90-Day Pathway Plans
- Implementation guidance and approved resource-use rights
The final inclusions depend on the selected model, cohort, partnership responsibilities and licence.
Purpose. Pathway. Possibility.