OUTSTANDING PATHWAYS PROGRAM Learn Local organisations are the cornerstone of adult education in the community. They join people with their communities and provide a forum for the sharing of information, experience and knowledge. Learn Local organisations link to early childhood services, schools and other vocational and higher education providers. They work with local councils, support services and job agencies, and create an environment that is welcoming to all. These three Learn Local programs are being celebrated for the pathways they have created for learners. Through these programs, learners have moved on to further education and training or into employment (either in paid or volunteer roles). The programs have helped learners to connect with their communities, with business and with organisations. These three programs demonstrate that the strategies and approaches used to develop and run the program generate pathways for learners to explore further education and training or move into employment. Careers Now YouthNow Since August 2012, 150 participants have taken part in the Careers Now program. YouthNow was developed to meet the needs of unemployed youth in Melbourne’s west. Based at one of Australia’s largest youth services centres, the Visy Cares Hub in Sunshine, it provides an essential learning program for young people who are looking for work. A significant number of these young people are pre-sentence youth who need additional support to gain learning skills that will help them find work and keep them out of prison. There can be a tendency to push young people into any training or available job. At YouthNow, they are given time to explore their interests, develop their skills and choose a career path that will ensure a satisfying occupation. The introduction of the Careers Now program at YouthNow has given vulnerable and at-risk youth the opportunity to have a say in their own learning. The program has resulted in a genuine drop in juvenile reoffending in Melbourne’s west.
students to engage with the broader community, which in turn increases their confidence and connectedness. In the words of one of Tony’s VCAL students, “We pay attention to him because he has respect for us… he is an all-round sick teacher, with a fresh Mohawk and goatee.”
Wyndham Community and Education Centre Wyndham Humanitarian Network Established in 2005, the Wyndham Humanitarian Network has evolved over the years to become a dynamic, structured organisation, working towards creating local solutions. Over the past two years it has demonstrated real outcomes for the communities it supports, which include people from Sudan and the Horn of Africa. It has been identified as a best practice model, known for its collegiate, professional and impactful humanitarian work. The City of Wyndham has seen an influx of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers 2005. The network caters to the needs of this diverse community. Given the trauma that many have suffered through displacement and loss, the task of re-building their lives in Australia is helped by the successful delivery of programs that are personalised, culturally sensitive and adopt a ‘whole-of-person’ approach. Wyndham Community and Education Centre is able to identify the educational needs that are essential to settlement and integration. Yarrawonga House Rural Blended Delivery Aged Care and HACC Yarrawonga Neighbourhood House (YNH) recognised that there was a growing skills shortage of aged care workers across the Hume region, and that a large percentage of graduates from their Aged Care and Home and Community Care courses had been successful in obtaining employment. In an effort to provide more skilled aged care workers, (YNH) partnered with Health Care and a number of community centres in the region to develop a sustainable model for a blended delivery. This would increase opportunities for new learners who would otherwise be unable to access training. (YNH) identified a number of specific target groups isolated from traditional training delivery. These included women on farms wishing to work off-farm, people in the CALD communities in Cobram and district, and men in smaller rural communities. Working with this range of people allowed them to respond to the employment opportunities in the area, including the demand for male aged care workers.
LEARN LOCAL FOR BUSINESS This award recognises a business that has established a solid relationship with a Learn Local organisation with the intention of developing and meeting its employees’ needs. In presenting this award, the ACFE Board congratulates this year’s winner for its commitment to employee training and development. It further acknowledges the ability of Learn Local organisations to provide flexible, tailored programs for businesses and their employees. KyValley in partnership with Kyabram Community and Learning Centre KyValley Dairy is a Kyabram-based company that incorporates two large working dairy farms and a fluid milk manufacturing plant. Operating in Kyabram for the past thirteen years, it employs more than 75 people on a part-time and casual basis. KyValley Dairy, working with the Kyabram Community and Learning Centre (KCLC), identified a number of staff training needs. After successfully securing funding under the ACFE Capacity and Innovation Grant, KCLC undertook research with KyValley Dairy to develop and customise programs that suited the needs identified by KyValley Dairy. Ongoing consultation and evaluation ensured that the low-cost, training is meeting the needs of the company.