STUDENTS: Nyjarra Harrison from Batemans Bay High School, Charley Shepstone from Corrimal High School, Tayla McGann from Morruya High School, Jaimie-Lee Burnside from Woonona High School and Tarsha Barrett from St John’s High School with Gerry Moore from Habitat Personnel and the ADHC regional director Peter McLaughlin.
A NEW program is aiming to whet the appetite of Aboriginal students considering working for aged care and disability organisations.
Currently only 5 per cent of the Ageing, Disability and Home Care (ADHC) workforce is staffed by Aboriginal people.
With the recent launch of a new Aboriginal school-based traineeship, ADHC is aiming to increase that number to 10 per cent by 2015.
The program has started with five students from South Coast and Illawarra high schools who met at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre recently.
ADHC regional director Peter McLaughlin said the program was a first for ADHC in this region and held a lot of promise for young Aboriginal people.
The students will be studying business administration with the support of a committee of representatives from organisations and educational institutions.
“These students were selected through a merit process,” he said.
“They will be working at the local ADHC office and we want these students to get a real feel for business administration,” he said.
Program participant Tarsha Barrett said she liked the idea of being in an industry that cared for older people.
“It would be a way of looking after my culture,” she said.