Education's transformative really at its heart. It gives people possibilities they didn't even know existed.
The Industry Practice Network's main focus is building the capability of Learn Local providers to partner with industry and co-design foundation skills training that meet workforce needs, and also create pathways to employment for learners.
There are three Learn Local Industry Practice Networks in Victoria. One is the Building, Civil Construction and Landscaping. Another is Care and Support and the third is Retail, Hospitality and Warehousing. A Learn Local is a community-based adult education provider focused on delivering pre-accredited courses and training programs that help people gain confidence in language, literacy and numeracy, digital and employability skills. So often introductory type courses or a taster.
Pre-accredited training is entry level training providing the learner the opportunity to gain skills, not just reading and writing, but it's about skills that are going to help them through their everyday life.
What we love about this particular type of model, it's more to see the growth of the person, the growth of their skills, the growth of their confidence, the growth of the capacity or their ability to believe in themselves.
So it really is a link to fuller participation in your community.
There's always a reason why people are long term unemployed. We can all lose our jobs, but you can't take away our experience. You can't take away our knowledge. The job is the fantastic pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But what do you need to get there?
Sometimes it's really not having an understanding of what the workplace requires.
One way the IPN model closes that gap is co-designing with employers.
How do we better prepare this person or lower the barrier so that they can progress into employment?
The Here to Care program was a co-design collaboration with our IPN and Learn Local networks for migrants who were in the English class at TAFE, who perhaps wanted to have an opportunity to come into aged care and strengthen our workforce. Aged care workforces, it's incredibly tough and it's understaffed throughout Australia.
For us, it was about complementing and finding different ways to not just put out a Seek ad. But for me it's been a really positive experience. We had 13 people go through the program and then seven were offered work out of that. And we haven't done anything other than offer an opportunity. And you're watching people transform.
Before I came to Australia, I lived in Thailand. My grandma, she had cancer. And my dad, he had a car accident and he can't remember me or anyone. Looking after my dad and my grandma, it gave me a lot of passion. I understand what people need. They are different.
I study Here to Care program. And that's how I get this job. They teach me about communication and understand about industry and working with the clients to provide good care. This is my first job in Australia. My job is cleaning and meal prep.
This program gives opportunity for everyone. Everyone can learn. Don't be afraid to try.
I want to help more people. I'm doing a disability course right now. I want to be a nurse one day. I'm so, so happy. I'm so proud of myself. I can help people make their life a little bit easier.
If you watch the growth of people like Khwan and I do have a bit of a proud dad moment. Knowing that she's studying a Certificate III, that's all been her self-motivation. I think that's incredibly impressive.
My life before the program wasn't the best. I was in and out of apprenticeships for Automotive. That was my passion at the time. This program gave me a new horizon. They gave us an opportunity to do a walk around with a security guard at Eastland for a day. And I enjoyed what it looked like. I went for an interview with two of the managers here. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to get employment. At the time, I was employed as a cleaner. I started out as just a casual, and then I worked my way up until I got my security license and did the transition over to security.
The opportunity to learn from this course has given me everything. It gave me the head start I needed. Literacy, handwriting skills, team leadership. It feels absolutely amazing to see how far I've come. Brought me out of the shell in a very good way. It's just makes me want to go even higher up in the security field. I'm wanting to do my Cert IV and go up to Armagard in Cash and Transport eventually. I've won two awards so far, so I'm happy.
This program gave me the head start I needed to succeed in my life.
The mentor-mentee aspect of the IPN is a key aspect to the program. Learn Locals that already have expertise in particular industry areas and experience in relationships mentor other Learn Locals to partner with local businesses.
The mentorship is all about selecting someone that I knew had the capacity to take their networking ability to the next level. To engage with other employers, to look for business, to know how to design or co-design new programs, knowing the learner cohort that we receive.
Sharing the knowledge with others is my passion. If I can change one person at a time, that'll be amazing.
I've always enjoyed working. I like to work behind the scenes. I never like to put myself in the spotlight. So when Sandra was trying to encourage me to try the IPN, I was like, "yeah, I'm not comfortable, but I can't keep saying no. I have to try".
The mentorship is something that I'll cherish forever because Heidi has been amazing. She really believes in me and she thinks that I am capable of it. That has actually been a great experience and her mentoring has been like more like listening and guiding me. And I really like that.
When I first met Priscilla, I could hardly hear her when she spoke to me, she was that softly spoken. She's now way more confident in what she's saying, and she's doing things that she thought she would never do before. In fact, she's just grown a set of wings. She knows how to write curriculum. She knows how to supervise trainers and how to motivate people, how to motivate learners. She just didn't have the confidence to apply that to industry partnering.
I've really grown. Yeah, this is the biggest one I would say sitting in front of a camera.
It is such a hard one for me, coming out of a completely different world and stepping into this country and giving it a go. And I'm so proud to be here. If I can do it, anyone can do it.
I do think that Priscilla will one day be a mentor herself, and I see her being an industry leader in this area.
There's so many Learn Locals, and if we pulled all that knowledge and those resources together, we would be so capable. What a powerful place Victoria would be.
We know the resources, the manpower, the knowledge that it takes to make an impact on one person's life. How do we put that on steroids? How do we find that magic formula that we can have the same input, but we can have a maximum output and we can only do that through collaboration.
But we're definitely stronger together. What I would say to a Learn Local thinking about joining an IPN is to just try it. You can start small, can dip your toe in the water and see where it goes, because it could lead to something fantastic for your Learn Local, for your community and for your learners.
It's really easy to sit there and say it's hard to find workers. If you're an employer, go and partner with a Learn Local. Tell the Learn Local what you need. They'll help you design it, but also offer outcomes. Go and actually say, hey, I've got 3 or 4 positions that I can offer out of this. Don't just put out a Seek ad and think that that's your best way. Go and partner with people on the ground and find people in the community. And more importantly, be really passionate about supporting people in that community that really, really need help.
The IPN model really does create a cycle. It's really setting a foundation for future work so you can continue the sustainability of this model and get more learners into an employment. The sky's the limit.
We have better lives and better neighbourhoods when more people are in meaningful jobs. Families thrive and local businesses grow. The whole area becomes a better place to live.
It's the way of the future. You need a village, and our village just happens to be Learn Locals.
Don't be scared to fail. And if we can be role models for our learners.
Go in with an open mind and an open heart because you just don't know what you're going to learn. Let's dream big.
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