The Northern Try A Trade event was held at the Broadmeadows Town Hall on Tuesday 18 th & Wednesday the 19 th of May 2010.
The Northern Try A Trade attracted 1397 students from 36 secondary schools in the Northern region schools of Hume, Whittlesea, Banyule, Darebin, Moreland and Nillumbik.
This year the event was conducted over 2 days, and had 821 Year 10-12 students (new for 2010) attending on the first day and over 570 Year 7-9 students making their way to attend the second day.
There were 21 different stalls over the two days and activities were supervised by qualified tradespeople and trainers from TAFE Colleges, along with representatives from a number of Australian Apprenticeship Centres. Students got to experience a wide range of industry areas which included: bricklaying, tiling, plumbing, automotive, hairdressing and beauty, manufacturing and aviation, electrical, air conditioning and refrigeration, furnishing, health, information communication and technology, children's services, visual merchandising, fashion, printing, and horticulture. The activities were delivered by Kangan Institute, Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE and RMIT.
For this event we received generous support both financial and in kind from a range of people and agencies which include Kangan Institute, Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE, RMIT, City of Hume, City of Moreland, City of Darebin, City of Banyule, Shire of Nillumbik, Apprenticeships Plus, Apprenticeships Melbourne, MEGT, Apprenticeships Group Australia.
The event was launched by Mayor Cr Stella Kariofyllidis of Moreland City Council.
Teachers and students who attended were very impressed and commented that these events enable them to gain a better understanding of trade related industries as well as inspire lots of interest and enjoyment from taking part in the various activities.
Some of the comments received by teachers and students about the event included:
“Thanks for the great experience – we enjoyed the exhibits.”
“Very well done and informative”
“Planting was fun because I got my hand dirty!”
“Plumbing was cool”
“This event opened me up to more options”
“Apprenticeships Centre was good – I got info and they helped me get somewhere”
“I liked it because it was hands on and I got to be involved. It was fun and I got to try new things.”
Close the Gap Business Recognition Ceremony
Moving businesses to improve Indigenous employment
Congratulations to the six businesses; Parks Victoria, High Rise Scaffolding, VicRoads, DESA, Austin Health, and North Yarra Community Health (NYCH), who were recognised for their outstanding work in Indigenous employment at the Northern Close the Gap Indigenous Employment Business Recognition Ceremony.
The ceremony was coordinated by the Northern Close the Gap Indigenous Employment Working Group, which was formed in mid-2008 in response to the Federal Government's Close the Gap campaign objective - to halve the gap in employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within a decade.
The event, held at the Indigenous Education Centre at the Kangan Institute in Broadmeadows, was a resounding success, with over 70 people attending.
It's Tuesday 13th April 2010 and the Working Community students are off on another excursion, (Hit the Ground Running), a tour of local community organisations. The focus of the day is to expose students to a variety of community organisations, to broaden their understanding of what the organisations offer to young people and how young people can become involved either on a personal level or for their term 3 youth led project.
Organisations visited on the day included Edendale Farm, Nillumbik Health and Community Centre, JETS Studio, Diamond Creek CFA and Police Station.
Students were given a tour of Edendale Farm, giving them an insight into lots of interesting environmental areas as well as learning how they could become a volunteer in looking after animals, horticultural activities etc and at Nillumbik Health and Community Centre students were given information on the wide variety of services offered especially to young people.
JETS Studio is always a hit, students are given the opportunity to get into a recording studio, have a go on a variety of instruments, do a bit of karaoke and play around of some computerised equipment.
After lunch we are off to the Diamond Creek CFA, what a fantastic tour we were given, students learnt how to become a volunteer fire fighter, had the opportunity to sit in a fire truck and told about all the fascinating equipment and then came the highlight of the day when all students had the chance to work the fire hoses and to experience the terrific pressure of a fire hose.
Straight from the CFA it's next door to the Diamond Creek Police station for a tour of the cells and an overview of how a police station operates followed by a talk with the Youth Resources Officer. Students were given an insight into the issues of our local area, what the local police will be focussing on and how they maybe able to be involved.
The teachers, students and staff from BNLLEN would like to formally thank all the organisations for giving their time to support the Working Community Program and for putting forward some fantastic project ideas for students to follow up.
-Colleen Hughes , Working Community / Advance Project Officer
Working Community students from Diamond Valley College and Eltham High School have been introduced to the idea of working in teams by way of a day in the outdoors.
The day commenced with a safety briefing and a flatwater skills session by the facilitators from Kaykaze Adventure Experience before paddling grade 1-2 rapids down the Yarra River starting at Jumping Creek Reserve in Wonga Park and paddling down to the Warrandyte Bridge .
An interesting time was had by all, students worked in pairs negotiating their way down the Yarra River with some students getting more than they bargained for and falling in.
Once on land students were bussed to “ Challenge Valley ” Clifford Park Scout Activity Centre where they worked in small teams to complete a series of obstacles/challenges focussing on encouraging team work and trust within the group.
Students were met with many challenges as they climbed timber walls, crawled through tunnels, swung on ropes and tyres, balanced on beams and assisted each other to successfully complete the course. Some students found themselves covered with mud as they swung over the mud pit with everyone having a go and by the smiles on faces everyone enjoyed all aspects of the day.
Well done to everyone who participated, its great to see the support, trust and team work in action.
-Colleen Hughes , Working Community / Advance Project Officer
Working Community 2010 is off to a great start with students from Eltham High School and Diamond Valley College coming together on Tuesday 23rd February for the first of many Working Community activities – The Induction Day.
The Induction Day started with a PowerPoint presentation by Colleen Hughes, Working Coordinator, BNLLEN providing the students with an outline of the Working Community program and the year to come. To preview the Powerpoint Presentation please click on the link below.
Two students from Eltham High Working Community 2009, Sam and Zoe provided a student perspective of the program sharing their experience and details of their youth led project for 2009.
John Glancy, Eltham YMCA introduced students to the concept of team, leadership and communication skills by way of an activity. Students were split into groups and given the brief to build a tower out of the provided supplies. Students would need to elect a leader and work together as a team drawing on each others strengths to successfully build a tower utilising the provided supplies.
Students worked well together putting together some very creative and well built towers, well done to all. A very big thank you to John Glancy, who once again has given his valuable time and skills to supporting the Working Community program and the students involved.
-Colleen Hughes , Working Community / Advance Project Officer
Working Community School Cluster
The Working Community Cluster is funded through the Advance Program where the schools involved commit their Advance funding to the Banyule Nillumbik LLEN to coordinate the Program. The Banyule Nillumbik LLEN then delivers the Program which meets all the Advance requirements using a cluster model so that schools run joint events and meet regularly as a teacher network. The MOU below is used by the participating schools. Any school that is interested in becoming involved should contact either Colleen Hughes, the Working Community Coordinator or Kate Rhodes at the Banyule Nillumbik LLEN.
