With only three weeks until Christmas and only four weeks until we’re able to wave goodbye to what has been a tumultuous 2020 for many, I wanted to take this opportunity to focus on some of the real positives Progressive Training, as an organisation, have experienced this year.
First and foremost, we have had the absolute pleasure of welcoming to our team, four new staff: Celeste Douglas, Tanja Parry, Craig Stanley and Kylie Quinonez. Tanja has taken over the role of Client Services Coordinator in our Geraldton office, Craig is the Lead Trainer for the Skills through Education and Employment Program (SEE Program) in Broome, Celeste has been employed as the Trainer/Assessor for the Certificate III in Early childhood education and care qualification and Kylie has come on board to assist in the resource review and conduct of the Certificate III in Early childhood education and care. All four have been wonderful additions to our team and I would like to publicly welcome them all and thank them for the positive impact they have had already. Tanja and Craig have provided a little ‘get to know you’ spiel below:
New Staff
Tanja Parry
I first visited Australia in 2007 and it was love at first sight; I immigrated to Australia in 2014 and have loved travelling through WA with my husband, having spent a couple of years in rural Northern WA and currently residing in Geraldton.
My background lies in childcare, however, I was ready for a career change and I am very lucky to have been given the opportunity to become part of the Progressive Training team, working as the receptionist/administration assistant whilst taking on the Cert III in Business.
I love photography, painting, taking my dogs for walks along the beach as well as diving and simply enjoying the stunning scenery Australia has to offer.
Craig Stanley
A qualified high school teacher, I have been working in Education in one form or another since 2004 and have spent most of that time in non-mainstream areas such as teaching students, (Both children and adults) with challenges to learning, including special needs, indigenous, immigrants and refugees.
Before becoming a teacher, I worked in IT support. I have also lived in Canada and Botswana, as well as a number of remote Indigenous communities in Western Australia and The Northern Territory. These experiences have exposed me to many different cultures and ways of life and allow me to better understand the people whom I teach.
What happens in Broome?
The onset of COVID 19 saw many Aboriginal communities placed in Lock down. This in turn meant that many of our clients were unable to attend. As this happened early in my tenure, I was able to acclimatise to the new position in my own time. This proved to be an invaluable opportunity.
With the relaxing of COVID 19 restrictions, current and potential clients began returning to Broome. Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service, (BRAMS) held a barbeque lunch to welcome patrons back into town. Clients and I represented Progressive Training at this event. We have since gained several new clients, partly due to this event.
Glass and Glazing
Despite the heavy travel restrictions we have seen throughout the year, and the changes to the economic environment that 2020 has brought with it, Progressive Training have continued providing quality training and assessment in the Glass and Glazing space. With Apprentices located from Broome in WA’s North to Albany and Demark in WA’s South (and everywhere in between), this year we have had the pleasure of both signing off and signing up, numerous Apprentices in their Certificate III in Glass and Glazing qualifications. With the intake this year, 2021 will remain very busy for our Perth based Trainer/Assessors.
Our Training and Assessment delivery model, in which our Trainers visit each Apprentice either on site or at their place of employment to provide training and assessment, has continued to win favour amongst our clients. Every Apprentice is provided personalised training and is assessed in their respective places of work using the machines and documentation the Apprentices will use/see daily, adding substantial contextualisation to their training.
Below are just a few of the success stories of 2020:
Pound Glass & Glazing (South Bunbury) – Progressive Training welcomed Jorja from Pound Glass and Glazing in November. Pictured with her Dad, Jorja has commenced her Certificate III as part of a School Based Apprenticeship. Congratulations Jorja!
Childcare
This year we have welcomed Celeste Douglas to our team as the new Certificate III in Early childhood education and care Trainer/Assessor. Celeste comes to us with a myriad of experience in many areas and has proven to be a fantastic addition to this pillar of Progressive Training’s services. Along with our new Trainer/Assessor, we have also welcomed Kylie Quinonez to our team. Kylie was previously the Centre Manger at Early Explorers Childcare Centre in Geraldton and has been instrumental in resource review and development in the Childcare space.
During 2020 quality training has remained strong and we are excited to continue to see sign offs and sign ups in the childcare space.
Bambi Child Care Centre – Congratulations Madi! Madi completed her Certificate III earlier this year whilst working at Bambi Child Care Centre. Pictured below is Progressive Training CEO, Jason Driscoll, presenting Madison Long with her qualification - Certificate III in Early childhood education and care.
With Progressive Training securing a place on the Department of Education Preferred Provider Panel to deliver Vocational Education and Training in Schools, 2020 has produced some exciting networking opportunities and a chance to engage with several schools across the state. As at the commencement of the School year in 2021, Progressive Training has been engaged to provide auspicing services for the delivery of; 52773WA Certificate I in Leadership and the CHC30113 Certificate III in Early childhood education and care, with several Schools in the Perth Metro region.
Pictured below is CEO Jason Driscoll, waiting to engage VET Coordinators at the VET and Workplace Learning School Staff Development Day. This event was held at the Department of Education Statewide Services Centre on the 23rd Nov and provided an opportunity for VET Coordinators representing over 100 Schools to engage with RTO’s on the Preferred Provider Panel. Despite the hot weather that day, many of the School representatives made time to speak with us and all-in-all it was a fantastic day!
As we all know, COVID 19 has had an impact on a lot of businesses right across the Nation. Border restrictions imposed as part of the McGowen Governments roadmap to recovery, have meant many of our indigenous cohort have been unable to attend regular training within the Broome CBD. Heading into the end of 2020, we are starting to see numbers growing. This increase in numbers has been a direct result of our new Trainer/Assessor, Craig Stanley, who has taken to the program like a duck to water. At this stage, we are ready, with doors open to welcome any/all eligible participants.
Staff PD
Here at Progressive Training our mission is to: ‘Facilitate in partnership, the knowledge, skills and attitudes that establish a culture of Training from Within’. … and what better way to emulate that than to upskill our own staff in the qualifications we deliver. As the CEO, I need to ensure our staff continue to develop and as a Trainer/Assessor myself, I need to remain current within both VET and Industry… welcome to How to operate and Maintain a 4WD. After playing part of participant so I could be qualified in this Unit of Competency, I facilitated a couple of courses later in the year, One of which that saw our Compliance Officer, Steve Meeny, then play part of participant. A bit of fun was had and below we see Steve in the midst of setting up for a Max Trax self-recovery.
Despite the ramifications COVID 19 has had across the Country, business has remained steady for our Geraldton Team. We have received constant training requests for all our staples throughout the year; Forklift, Elevated Work Platform, Working at Heights, Confined Space Entry, Gas Testing and 4WD, and we have also facilitated more than 30 Rio Tinto Site Inductions since January.
Half Price Fees 2021!
For those of you looking at either the Certificate III in Glass and Glazing or the Certificate III in Early childhood education and care, in 2021 these two qualifications will have half price fees in place until 31 Dec 2021. Please call us for more information.
To finish off, I’d like to offer a big ‘Thank you’ to all our Staff and Contractors for remaining so resilient this year… it has certainly been one for the History books.
I would like to wish all our Clients and Business Partners a Joyful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! Please stay safe over the festive season and on behalf of the Progressive Team, we look forward to working with you all again in 2021.