WA Country Health Service for Graduates
WA Country Health Service (WACHS), Work Smart and the Girls Academy are celebrating the first group of full-time Aboriginal trainees to be employed in WA Country Health Services. Representatives from WACHS, Work Smart and the Girl’s Academy got together to discuss the successes of their 3-year relationship.
Keeana Bennell and Jasmine Winmar, Newton Moore SHS graduates, were 2 of 3 Girls Academy students to complete a School-Based Traineeship with WACHS during Year 11 & 12.
Mr Philips, Acting HR Manager at WACHS, was so impressed by the students during their school-based traineeships that he applied for funding from the Department of Health to implement full-time traineeships.
Now that they have graduated Year 12, Keeana and Jasmine are employed as full-time trainees and are completing their Certificate III in Business. Ms Bennell is currently working in South-West Regional Aged Care. She says that being employed by WACHS has helped to clarify her future goals of becoming a nurse. Jasmine is employed in WACHS Inlands Project Management team. She says that one of the best things about her job was being part of the once in a life-time opportunity of working on the Warren Hospital build and transition.
Ms Yardley from Work Smart, believes some of the key factors in the success of this relationship have been employer flexibility, finding a workplace supervisor who can build rapport with students, and the high level of support from staff at Newton Moore Girls Academy.
This year WACHS have already employed new school-based trainees from Newton Moore Girls Academy and Ms Yardley and Mr Philips are excited about the future of this partnership.
Pictured Left: (L-R) Tracie Yardley (Work Smart), Keeana Bennel, Murray Philips (WACHS) and Colleen Devlin (Girls Academy Post School Options Coordinator).
Pictured Right: Jasmine Winmar hard at work as part of WACHS Inlands Project Management team