Social enterprise wins ACT Large Employer of the Year at the ACT Training Awards
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The broad-based social enterprise, Communities@Work, has been recognised as the ACT Large Employer of the Year at the ACT Training Awards on Thursday 12 September 2019. This award recognises a large organisation with a demonstrated commitment to training its employees and encouraging and assisting them in their employment related development.
The Training Awards gala dinner brought together the ACT’s best, with a field of finalists comprising of apprentices, trainees, VET students, teachers, practitioners, training providers and employers, small and large.
Communities@Work is very proud to be awarded the ACT Large Employer of the Year award against an impressive selection of finalists: Calvary John James and Calvary Bruce Private Hospitals; Calvary Public Hospital Bruce; Janrule Pty Ltd and John McGrath Auto Group.
Lee Maiden, Communities@Work CEO was thrilled to receive the award: “I could not be prouder than I was when I accepted the award for the ACT Large Employer of the Year. Communities@Work is genuinely committed to investing in a highly skilled and qualified workforce. It is our dedicated people who make us who we are and give so much to the Canberra community. ”
Communities@Work is an employer of choice in the ACT, with nearly 700 passionate and dedicated employees (including over 420 Early Education and Care educators), who all work to support positive educational outcomes, and build a resilient, sustainable and socially inclusive community.
Communities@Work’s employees choose Communities@Work because of the difference they can make and because of the investment Communities@Work makes in them. Communities@Work invests in its employees and its learning and development strategies are designed to support organisational excellence and career development. To complement their formal training opportunities, employees are able to cross-skill and access alternative career pathways by working across various roles and areas in Communities@Work.
For example, Chloe worked as an educational leader and successfully completed her Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Achieving the qualification opened a career opportunity for Chloe to successfully apply for a Trainer Assessor position within Communities@Work’s registered training organisation, the Centre of Professional Learning and Education.
Working within vocational education and training was Chloe’s career goal, and through a sponsorship program which Communities@Work funded, Chloe enrolled to complete her Bachelor of Early Childhood Education. The role of Trainer Assessor allowed Chloe to share her experiences as an Educational Leader and the knowledge she gained through her degree. Chloe is due to complete her degree this year and is looking forward to more learning opportunities to further her career goals.
Communities@Work operates the same philosophy with the Canberra community. The Ascend program helps ensure qualified and skilled educators in Canberra’s early education and care. This industry leading traineeship provides trainees with valuable paid experience as they work across a variety of its early education and care services and complete their qualification, with practical support provided every step of the way.
Investing in its employees is crucial to the productivity and performance of the organisation, which is crucial to Communities@Work’s ability to deliver the best quality, affordable, innovative, flexible and value-for-money services and continue to deliver positive outcomes in the Canberra community.
Communities@Work looks forward to the possibility of representing the ACT to win the title of ‘best in Australia’ at the Australian Training Awards, which will be held in Brisbane on 21 November 2019.
Pearl Dy is a community manager and journalist. She is passionate about business and development particularly involving not-for-profits, charity and social entrepreneurship.
