2021 NSW Industry Training Awards Finalist

ALL THE WAY TO THE FINALS IN SEPTEMBER

Allambi Care’s Learning and Development Team have become finalists in the 2021 NSW Training Awards, progressing through the regional round for the development and delivery of the Diploma of Community Services. These awards are conducted annually by Training Services NSW, within the NSW Department of Education, to recognise outstanding achievement in the vocational education and training sector.

Allambi Care has become a finalist in two categories, the Large Employer of the Year Award and the Collaboration Award. The Large Employer of the Year Award recognises a large enterprise which has achieved excellence in the provision of ‘nationally recognised training’ to its employees. We have been nominated for the Collaboration Award, for our work with the Bradford Institute of Advanced Education in developing and delivering the Diploma Pathway.Trainer, Neil Richardson, says:

“The beauty of delivering the content is your class knows you’ve sat where they are sitting now.  You understand where they are coming from, and they, in turn, understand what you are teaching them. All we are doing is holding their hands and guiding them along the path to a good, solid qualification in this industry. We’ve got the easy role; they work hard for this.”

Trainer, Julee Kennedy, says becoming a finalist has provided recognition for all the hard work the team have put in over the past couple of years, to shape the Diploma Pathway.

“We are a diverse group of people who have come from all walks of life to bring together a collaborative approach of our experiences, skills and knowledge to create the best outcomes for our staff that leads to best outcomes for our young people and adults,” Julee says.

Julee also takes great pride in seeing the change in staff who take on the challenge of studying for the Diploma:

“I love seeing the passion, the care and the growth of our staff. The transferable skills they are obtaining -- “I can’t wait to use this out in the house!” Most of all I love supporting our staff to achieve their goals; be it that they never thought they could or would study and gain a qualification.”

Learning and Development Manager Ben Jones is incredibly proud of the training team staff facilitating this journey for learners, as well as the outcomes it is achieving for those they support. Ben states the recognition is amazing and recognises the hard work  Allambi Care have put in since 2015 and the success of the collaboration with the Bradford Institute of Advanced Education.  

“The support and likelihood for success for the Allambi Care Support Workers is unparalleled. In my own experience, a formal qualification is significantly more expensive, requiring a staff member working their full-time job and then driving to crowded TAFE campuses for weekly classes which are unrelated to work assignments.”

Ben says the team have struck an amazing balance at recognising staffs’ current knowledge and skillsets, as well as providing content that is completely relevant to Allambi Care.

“In my role with TACT- working with Support Workers from external agencies - I am regularly humbled by hearing about their frustrations around qualification requirements, including fear of losing their role, the exuberant costs associated, lack of teacher support, along with draining time commitments and attendance requirements,” Ben says.

Learners have identified having an assigned trainer has resulted in trainers that are accessible, knowledgeable, helpful and prompt with feedback and support needs.

The Learning and Development team await 24 September, to see if they have won their NSW awards, which would mean they progress to the National titles.

Whatever the outcome, the training team is proud to represent Allambi, and proud to continue to deliver this unique Diploma Pathway to staff.