Roper Gulf Regional Council would like to congratulate the ten individuals who graduated from their Certificate III in Community Services studies at the beginning of the month.
This was the first time this course was delivered using conversation between students and trainers and practical skills as evidence of knowledge rather than written course work.
The program was designed specifically for this cohort of students by Chris Berrett, the principal trainer at Bradford Institute of Advanced Education and Clare Cupitt, Programs Manager at Roper Gulf Regional Council.
“I think, in this country we need to get better at the way we educate and the way we present information to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this program is an example of doing better,” Chris said.
“Not knowing the group, I started the program as we had it with workbooks, the first workshop was on managing stress in the workplace and I looked around and saw the stress on each of the students faces and realised things needed to change.
“My idea was more storytelling, more yarning, less writing, no writing if possible, making it a bit more relaxing so the students can share what they do and how they do it so I can make sure that it matches the requirements of the units of study.
“I presented the idea to the Bradford Institute and Clare, the Programs Manager at Roper Gulf and they both said go for it; I am so proud that all the students showed up every week, they gave it their all and it shows.”
The graduating class received their certificates in front of friends, family and Roper Gulf staff on Friday in a graduation ceremony thrown in their honour.
The knowledge and skills learnt in this certificate will allow Roper Gulf Regional Council staff to deliver higher quality customer services to individuals, groups and communities across the region Mayor Tony Jack said.
“This is just the start of our commitment to encouraging further education at Roper Gulf, we want to encourage all staff across the region to study and learn, and it’s really great to see a strong start to the process,” the Mayor said.
This new program and training delivery is a finalist in the Northern Territory Training Awards, which will be announced on 2 September 2023.
“We as council are so proud of the graduating class for their hard work and dedication,” Roper Gulf Regional Council CEO Marc Gardner said.
“We thank the Bradford Institute and all staff involved for the initiative showed to ensure the education system is working with our communities, to continue our commitment to giving staff and community members the best chance at an education.
“Council is also proud to announce that after the success of this program we have another class of twenty students beginning this training later in the year.”
Roper Gulf Regional Council would like to thank the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) for funding this program.
