Residents from small towns in the Wimmera Southern Mallee who face barriers to study are being supported through a new training program that will kickstart regional careers and respond to the high demand for care workers.
Wimmera Southern Mallee (WSM) Development and Federation University in Horsham secured $1M in Victorian Government funding to identify what types of people in the community are not working – and why – and to come up with a unique way to engage these people in free training to open career pathways.
Initial research by Federation University found that a significant number of women between 25 and 44 years of age in the region did not work because they found it difficult to attend training in person, said WSM Development Program Manager, Binesh Tholath.
“Most of these people live in small towns and face barriers like childcare and transport, so they can’t get to classes,” explained Mr Tholath. “Some don’t have access to a laptop, or they might have challenges with computer literacy.”
Mr Tholath said WSM Development and Federation Uni got together to design a training model that broke barriers to study and focused on the needs of each student so they could access the free training in the care industry.
“We run all the classes online – with the option to come to Fed Uni on occasion – and provide fuel vouchers and laptops to the students who need them,” he said. “We also offer other types of support, such as extra tutoring and textbooks.”
Federation University’s Dr Cathy Tischler said 12 people from small communities in the Wimmera had started the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), which is being held two-days a week and is set to finish in July next year. A further three are updating qualifications to return to the industry.
“We’ll be transforming the region’s workforce in a short space of time,” said Dr Tischler. “When these ECEC students finish their studies next year, they will support an extra 60 families in our region to access work.”
Dr Tischler added that the recent announcement by the Federal Government of a 15 percent increase in child-care worker salaries was a good incentive for people to take up ECEC study.
ECEC course student Tina said the only reason she could take part in the course was because it was free and was delivered locally.
“The petrol vouchers are such a big help, too, as I have to travel to class,” said Tina. “Being in class and having other students to bounce ideas off is also a great help.”
The program is looking for more students to take part in more training with similar supports to kick off in coming months including Certificate III in Individual Support, Certificate IV in Disability and Certificate IV in Community Services.
People living in the West Wimmera, Hindmarsh, Yarriambiack, Buloke, Swan Hill, Gannawarra, Loddon, Northern Grampians, Southern Grampians and Glenelg municipalities are eligible to apply for a spot in a course, but they must prove they are facing barriers to study.
The courses recognise prior learning for people in care industries to fast-track the updating of qualifications.
WSM Development CEO, Chris Sounness said the region needed more people in the care industry to build sustainable, self-supporting communities.
“The ‘Accessing Latent Care Industry Workforce’ Project addresses the need to develop and maintain the care workforce across the Wimmera Southern Mallee,” said Mr Sounness.
“The project will test if these tailored training and mentoring methods can be applied in the future by Federation Uni and other tertiary establishments servicing our region.
“We are also working with employers in the region to organise work placement as part of the courses and to explore opportunities for future employment once the student has graduated.”
For more information about the upcoming courses, please call Binesh Tholath, Binesh.tholath@wsm.org.au or 0436 118 091.
Media enquiries: Beth Gibson, WSM Development, 0437 816 505.