Apprenticeships, Employment & Training Provider | VERTO
VERTO is an award winning, not-for-profit organisation assisting businesses and individuals with all their apprenticeship, employment and training needs. Our expertise covers a range of areas including Aboriginal services, Australian apprenticeships services, disability services, employment services and vocational training to help businesses, individuals and local industry to thrive. Our mission is to positively impact the lives of individuals and communities and we’ve built a track record of exemplary customer service over 35 years, built around an ethical approach.You'll find the team in over 40 locations across New South Wales.
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VERTO program to grow mental health support in remote NSW communities
A number of people from regional and remote NSW attended Bathurst's VERTO employment and training centre throughout the week to build their knowledge and skills on suicide prevention.
For the last eight months, 11 participants from across NSW have been participating in a course providing training that will equip them for roles in the field of mental health support work.
The course is a joint program between VERTO and Western Plains Regional Development Centre, and is designed to provide more accessible mental health support services in regional and remote communities.
"Mental health is a serious issue in isolated communities and is often overlooked by members of society," VERTO chief executive officer Ron Maxwell said.
"The suicide rate in regional NSW is around 50 per cent higher than in metropolitan areas, which stresses the need to address the issue in more remote communities."
Each participant has received a scholarship to aid in their training and on completion of the course, they will receive a Certificate IV in Community Services.
The scholarships were awarded on the basis of locations experiencing a greater prevalence of mental health-related issues.
Grenfell's Chad White entered the course to gain necessary knowledge to support the more vulnerable members of his community.
"It's important for small communities to have someone there to encourage people that they're never alone," Mr White said.
"For me, the issue of suicide hits very close to home, and I hope to use all the techniques I have learned to assist others in managing their mental health."
The course has incorporated participants from a variety of socioeconomic groups, including farmers, miners, youth and Indigenous Australians.
Funding for the course was provided by the Western NSW Primary Health Network [WNSWPHN] through the federal government's National Suicide Prevention Trial.
"This program is investing in people from smaller communities to become leaders in mental health support and address workforce shortages in remote areas," WNSWPHN program coordinator Sue Hackney said.
As published in the Western Advocate, May 17 2019 - 5:00AM
Are career advisors still relevant in today's changing world?
By Ron Maxwell - CEO
In a world where young people are likely to experience an average of seventeen jobs and five careers, it has been argued that the humble career advisor is no longer a necessary part of our schooling system. For me, I would say it's the opposite – career advisors have never been more valuable to ensure individuals, and indeed, whole generations can compete in a global job market. The key lies in changing the model to realise its full potential.
The existing model is designed to help senior high school students understand their career options; taking into account their abilities and interests to put them on a path to success, and hopefully, personal fulfillment. The model is certainly intended to be unbiased and to work with each student as an individual, but somewhere along the way, many career advisors started viewing university as almost a blanket option for all students.
Whether this occurred because school rankings began measuring university entrance as an indicator, because parents began to view university as the best option for their children, or because society, in general, began to believe that everyone should get a degree, is open to speculation. But the reality is that it has the potential to put Australia behind when it comes to the skills required for the future.
With a level of uncertainty about the future, one thing is clear – learning will need to be continuous to keep up with the pace of change. It's no longer realistic for young people to think they will study and then have the same career until retirement. Our career advisors are well placed to become enablers of this new reality, with a few changes to the approach.
Career management is key
Recent research by the World Economic Forum indicates that, alongside technological skills, employers will continue to require people with higher cognitive, (critical thinking, complex information processing and creativity) social and emotional skills (empathy, emotional intelligence, resilience and agility).
These two skill groups are not typically included in Australian school curricula, which focuses more on STEM and literacy, so there is a great opportunity for career guidance programs to step into this void; essentially building skill sets that will carry students through multiple careers.
A focus on these career management skills would add significant value to our school leavers and their future employers, regardless of their career/s of choice. The social and emotional or ‘soft' skills will also enable them to better navigate uncertainty and rapid change, two things they are likely to encounter in our current and future job market.
It's about the right choice for each student
In a recent study of Australian students, around one third indicated that Vocational Education and Training (VET) had not been discussed as an option. This is concerning to me, and should be to us all, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the career advice given to our school leavers should be based on the best option for their interests and abilities, and if VET options aren't being discussed with most students, it's likely this isn’t happening.
Secondly, with our current and anticipated skills shortages across key industry sectors, such as aged care and hospitality, alongside many of our traditional trades, failing to discuss VET career options in this sector is only going to exacerbate these shortages.
Thirdly, 9 out of 10 jobs of the future are tipped to require a VET certification, making VET a great choice for current school leavers.
And lastly, we already have an overabundance of graduates across many of our university professions, so encouraging more students into these overcrowded spaces is only going to have an increasingly adverse effect on our job market.
VET has long been viewed as the poor cousin, despite having higher average graduate salaries than university, and a wide range of job opportunities. There is no better place to start changing community attitudes than in our schools, and career advisors are at the coalface.
Discussions need to start earlier
Many career guidance programs commence working with students in their senior high school years, around age 16, but, in my opinion, earlier is far better.
On a recent trip to Germany, I saw the positive outcomes of a model that encourages students to start thinking about their careers earlier in their high school education and make subject choices that put them on a pathway to success.
It can be hard when parent, school, and community attitudes tend to be heavily weighted towards university options, but changing the way we think about careers is key. Career management and a level playing field for all higher education options and career choices are critical to ensuring our kids have access to the skills to navigate a changing world.
If our school system is willing to make changes to the model, our career advisors have a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of shaping the next generation and keeping our job market strong into the future.
Futureproof your working life with new skills program
For an increasing number of Australians, job security is the number one concern in mid-life.
Redundancies are an ever-present threat, and if you work in a tech-related field, it’s easy to feel out of step with your millennial colleagues who were born with an iPad and smartphone in their cribs.
What’s more, it can also be difficult to know where to turn if you are looking to up-skill, or change direction after being in the same role or industry for most of your working life.
Luckily, there is help now at hand, thanks to the Skills Checkpoint for Older Workers Program (the Skills Checkpoint Program), an Australian Government-funded initiative which aims to fill a gap in the services currently available to older Australians.
In a nutshell, if accepted into the program the government will pay half the cost to help you retrain, or upskill, up to the value of $2,200, with you or your employer paying the rest.
The program provides advice and guidance on transitioning into new roles within your current industry, or pathways to a new career, including referral to relevant education and training options.
Eligible individuals are those aged 45 to 70 who are employed and at risk of entering the income support system due to organisational or industry changes, or recently unemployed and not registered for assistance through an Australian Government employment services program.
VERTO, an award winning, NSW-based not-for-profit organisation assisting businesses and individuals with all their apprenticeship, employment and training needs is one of two agents charged with rolling out the national scheme.
Its patch is NSW, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, while The BUSY Group handles Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
The Australian Government estimates the $17.4 million Skills Checkpoint Program will support up to 20,000 Australians over four years nationally.
VERTO chief executive, Ron Maxwell, said the first step for anyone from NSW, Victoria or the ACT who might be interested in taking part is to contact the VERTO team.
“Once we’ve established a participant’s eligibility, we conduct a free career planning session which determines suitable education and training options as outlined in an individual career plan. This help participants to reach their employment goals,” says Ron.
“This includes retraining in order to pursue career opportunities in new professions.”
Ron says VERTO’s direct engagement program with employers offering large redundancy programs is also working well.
“We are, however, committed to the continual promotion of the Skills Checkpoint Program and are therefore very grateful for the interest taken by sites such as 50 So What, as it’s important we get the word out to the 45-70 market about the opportunities provided through this program.”
For more information on how you can get involved, just call 1300 4 VERTO (1300 483 786), email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit VERTO Skills Checkpoint.
As published by 50 So What at 50sowhat.com.au
TAFE NSW Orange student Clinton Larkings will compete in WorldSkills
TAFE NSW Orange student Clinton Larkings has been selected to represent Australia at the 45th WorldSkills International Championships taking place in Kazan, Russia.
Competing in the Industrial Mechanics Millwright category, Mr Larkings will join a team of 40 people, including 15 competitors and 25 experts and officials, who will represent Australia at the international skills event.
The 15 young men and women, known as the Skillaroos, will compete against apprentices and trainees from 60 countries, in the hope of becoming world champions in their chosen trade or skill area.
The Skillaroos, all aged between 19 to 22, represent a wide range of trades and skills with the majority aligning with the National Skills Needs list, these include: Cloud Computing, Electrical Installations, Plumbing and Heating and Graphic Design Technology.
The 45th WorldSkills International Championship will bring together more than 1,600 young people, representing 60 countries and regions who will compete in 56 skill competitions from August 22-27.
Vocational education minister, Senator Michaelia Cash said the competitors demonstrated the quality of skills we have in Australia.
"Australia has one of the best reputations in the world for skills development," she said.
WorldSkills Australia CEO Brett Judd congratulated the Skillaroos on being selected to represent Australia.
As published in the Central Western Daily, April 18 2019 - 10:30AM
VERTO signed Clinton up to a Certificate III in Engineering- Mechanical Trade with Luke Cross Engineering and Rigging in Dubbo in 2016.
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