While the Northern Territory's 1, 346, 200 square kilometres occupy 17% of the Australian land mass, its 198,000 inhabitants represent only one per cent of the country's population (ABS). Just under 12,000 of these inhabitants are secondary age young people. They live in a part of Australia that has the smallest population, the lowest population density, the youngest population, the highest proportion of Indigenous people, the highest level of transience, and the largest proportion of its population living in remote areas.
Nearly 39% of the total student enrolment in NT government schools (primary and secondary) is Indigenous, compared with other states and territories where Indigenous students represent only 5% or fewer of the student population.
The Northern Territory is home to only one university, Charles Darwin University (CDU). CDU is a dual sector university and with its eight campuses and centres and large percentage of distance education, it is quite unique in Australia. Due to the structure of the market CDU is the main provider of VET and HE courses in the Territory. Because of this, there is no need for an independent NT NAPSA Chapter as such. We participate actively in the monthly meeting of the Careers Educators Association Northern Territory (CEANT). This group includes Careers Advisers, LCPs, Group Training Companies, Dept of Education and Training, Apprenticeships Centres, and other training providers. This has proven to be a very useful forum to share ideas and discuss issues.
There are a number of Careers Expos in the Northern Territory at this stage:
- DET Careers Expos in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy
- EOC Expo in Darwin; first time 2008.
Most of the travel is either very local (most high schools in Darwin are in 15 minutes driving distance) or a plane flight away (Adelaide, Alice Springs). Due to the difference in message and timing other States plan their own road shows/visits if and when they see fit. Because the NT is part of the South Australian Tertiary Admission Centre, our closest associates are the SA Universities and ANU.