Around 150 people in the Hume region of Victoria who have interacted with the criminal justice system will be offered tailored mentoring, clinical and educational services to help them address undiagnosed learning difficulties and find work, as part of the Australian Government’s Finding Strengths trial.

Participants in the project will be either on parole, completing community work orders, and/or have problematic drug use and will be offered assistance and tools to address the learning difficulties that may be affecting their lives.

CEO of The Centre for Continuing Education, Felicity Williams, said that recent research identified clear links between education completed by prisoners and reduction of time spent on welfare in the future.

“This project seeks to assist ex-offenders who have not participated in prison education, and/or have dropped out of school early due to undiagnosed learning difficulties with a view to increasing their chances of finding a job. There does appear to be a high incidence of undiagnosed learning difficulties, such as ADHD or dyslexia, among the prison population, and the evidence from this project will assist our understanding of how to assist the broader offender population to have better life outcomes.”

As part of the trial, each participant will take part in a tailored therapy and educational program which includes strengths-based language, literacy and numeracy education and provides participants with a better understanding of how to communicate with employers.”

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Delegates from The Centre and from NE Tracks LLEN were invited as guests to attend the Victorian Premier’s Champion Volunteer Awards at Government House (Victoria) this past weekend. The invite was extended as The Centre has worked in partnership with NE Tracks LLEN to deliver the Big Bytes for Small Organisations program locally.

The Centre for Continuing Education in consultation with Wodonga Institute of TAFE (WIOT) have developed a pre-apprenticeship program for RII20715 Certificate II in Civil Construction to be delivered in North East Victoria.

Utilising Wodonga TAFEs Barnawartha LOGIC site, students will learn hands-on construction techniques, entry-level skills and the knowledge required to commence an entry level career in the civil construction industry.

With The Centre delivering units onsite at Wodonga TAFE’s Logic campus in Barnawartha North, it is anticipated that learners will develop an interest in further study potentially continuing their study with Wodonga TAFE at a Certificate III level.

The program will involve local organisations; such as the Works and Horticulture departments at the Rural City of Wangaratta, Lima South Quarry, local builders, concreters, traffic control organisations; through the site visits, guest speakers, live workplace observations and demonstrations.

Felicity Williams CEO of The Centre speaks of the need for skilled workers in the region. “With the Federal and State government’s infrastructure agenda, there is no doubt that the need for skilled workers to join the civil construction workforce along the Hume corridor is growing. Consequently, The Centre is committed to supporting job seekers to develop key skills to join this industry.”