Over the next three years, BCA National will deliver business courses (from Certificate I to Advanced Diploma) to more than 240 trainees in remote and rural Aboriginal communities nationally.
BCA National Training Group has offered training to remote communities in Governance, Community Services, Business and Conservation & Land Management for many years.
We have recently contracted with the Department of Health and Ageing to offer six levels of Business Skills training (Certificate I - Advanced Diploma) to Aboriginal Aged Care and Health Services providers from all states of Australia and the Northern Territory. One of the goals for our project is to establish a group of skilled Aboriginal Administrators, who can take on management roles in these service areas and in the future in a wider range of community enterprises.
BCA National will, over the next three years, deliver courses to more than 240 trainees nationally. The first modules of the Certificate III and Certificate IV in Business commence late November, 2010.
The training is linked to the traineeships provided by the Department, which will provide employment for between 6 months and 24 months so that students can further develop skills in the workplace. Supervisors will also be offered training, so that they can be active participants in the program.
Through extensive consultation with interest groups (including site and community visits), we developed a comprehensive, tailored program of resources to suit the needs of our Indigenous trainees.
To help build trainee confidence and participation throughout their course, the Program focuses heavily on group work and incorporates face to face training, additional site visits, guest speakers, project work, collaboration in work-based learning (including supervisor training) and a specialised Mentor Program to support trainees’ needs.
We hope that bringing administrative staff from remote communities together will build longer term networks between service providers across Australia, which will offer advice and support to future groups of local young people looking for career opportunities in their own communities.
BCA National Managing Director, Bruce Callaghan, said the Community Business Skills Program will contribute to a more sustainable health and aged care service in these remote communities.
“What we’re doing in these communities goes beyond simply delivering courses - we’re working closely with the trainees to engage them and foster confidence and positive attitudes to learning while building their language and literacy skills," Bruce said.
"BCA National believe providing Indigenous training practice should reflect good training practices, where training meets the real needs of the participants and is relevant, in this case, to the needs of Indigenous participants from remote communities.
“We believe knowledge creates a future for all trainees, but this is especially critical for Indigenous Trainees. It gives them the tools to bridge the gap between their communities’ needs and the requirements of their health and aged care services in the business world.
“In doing this, their services benefit through business and management skills while supporting their community and Elders. To achieve this, participants need to know themselves, their community and their culture, while learning about their organisation’s management.”
BCA National will work to provide a strong support system for the trainees through their Supervisor Training and Mentor Programs, to ensure that the support continues in their workplaces and that learning outcomes carry across into workplace performance for a real measurable impact.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Related Items
Newsletter
To stay up to date with all the latest courses and activities please subscribe to our monthly newsletter.