Communities@Work has been recognised as the ACT Large Employer of the Year at the ACT Training Awards on Thursday 10 September 2020, for the second year in a row.

The 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 Announcement was held virtually this year, featuring 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 and humbled to be awarded the ACT Large Employer of the Year award against an impressive selection of finalists: CEA Technologies and Department of Parliamentary Service Apprenticeship Program.

Lee Maiden, Communities@Work CEO was thrilled to receive the award: “We are elated to have been recognised as the ACT Large Employer of the Year at the ACT Training Awards for the second year in a row. Communities@Work has a strong and ongoing commitment to developing the best people, which means a highly skilled and qualified team.

She said, “to be an employer of choice, we need to continually support and invest in our people. It is our hardworking and dedicated team who make us who we are and make such an impact to the Canberra community.”

Communities@Work is an employer of choice in the ACT, with over 600 passionate and dedicated employees (including almost 500 Early Education and Care educators), all of whom help support positive educational outcomes, and build a resilient, sustainable and socially inclusive Canberra community.

Communities@Work’s learning and development strategies are designed to support organisational excellence and career development. Winning the award for the second year in a row demonstratesthe organisation’s continuing investment in employees.

To complement formal training opportunities, Communities@Work provides employees opportunities to crossskill and develop career pathways working across roles and areas in Communities@Work.

For example, Hannah Rainbow joined Communities@Work as a Disability Support Worker in 2018 and went on to complete her Certificate 4 in Disability with the support and guidance from the organisation. Achieving the qualification opened a career opportunity for Hannah to  successfully take on a very complex program with dual licencing criteria (with the NDIA and CECA), gaining the opportunity to work with children in the Communities@Work Malkara School Holiday Program.

With the support of Communities@Work in her training, Hannah achieved her career development goal of becoming a Program Support Facilitator. Her professional development not only improved her relationship with clients, successfully meeting her clients’ progress goals, but also helped make a difference in the lives of her disability clients, while benefiting the program.

Similarly, Loveleen Kaur is an employee of Communities@Work and a graduate of the Ascend program. She says, “being able to train and work at the same time has been very useful because what you learn in class relates to what you practise in service. What I really like about the program is not just the class and the study, it is the extra support I get from the trainers. Ascend is good because you got a job while you were studying so you were working straight away. I love the support you get from all the teachers and their understanding that you’re working full time and studying, so they want to help you as much as they can”.

Communities@Work’s Ascend Program has been designed as an ongoing traineeship model to source, train and secure the highest quality educators for its services. The program provides new educators with permanent employment opportunities across its Children’s Services programs and enrolment into a Certificate III Traineeship within its Registered Training Organisation (RTO) – The Centre of Professional Learning and Qualification.

The program is open to anyone passionate about working in the Early Education and Care sector, whether they are commencing a new career, progressing their career, or interested in making a career change..