Ganbina

You may have read the most recent results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) study, which has found that globally students around the world have declined in reading and mathematics since the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of two years of lockdowns and remote learning are clear, with many students particularly in primary school now half to a full year of learning behind in key subjects such as English and mathematics. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the PISA reports found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were about four years of schooling behind non-Indigenous students. This is why our Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) tutoring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth is so important. We ensure that our children and youth are on the same learning level as their peers so that they are academically ready for secondary school and successfully transition through the education system and onto further education and/or employment. You can read more about Ganbina's Accelerated Learning Program and why it's such an integral part of our program on the Ganbina blog: https://lnkd.in/gDefegke

Happy NAIDOC Week! Yesterday the Ganbina team was at ANZ's Indigenous Business Marketplace, which is a yearly event put on as part of its NAIDOC Week celebrations, at 833 Collins Street, Docklands. We had a wonderful time sharing with ANZ employees about what Ganbina does and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. Once again, a big thank you to ANZ for inviting us to participate in such an awesome event. There were more than 20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned and run businesses and organisations represented. A special thank you to Simon Nash who puts this great event together every year with Louise Ellis and ANZ who are such a key and wonderful support to Ganbina and the work that we do. #NAIDOC2024

We are very excited to share that following our recent Careers Night (which many of our partners exhibited at) has led to.... - 3 x applications for Defence Australia - 4 x job offers from Kmart Australia Limited - as well as an additional six applications for jobs at Bunnings through Bunnings' Indigenous Employment Advisor Jayden Gerrand, who will be calling participants for interviews soon. Ganbina's annual Careers Night is uniquely created for our Year 10, 11, 12 participants and those seeking employment. Our Education Project Officers work with our youth in finding out their aspirations with the aim to focus supporting them on the Careers Night, being there to encourage them to speak with particular exhibitors that they may have interest in. We hope all our participants secure employment and/or further education post our event, whether that be after-school employment, a full-time career or enrolling in a course. Well done to all of our participants! We also want to thank the exhibitors and all our participants for attending our Careers Night for 2024 and look forward to next year's event! Real results. Real Impact. Real change.

Ganbina's annual report for 2022-23 is now available. Click the below link to read about our results across all elements of the Jobs4U2 program for the 22/23 financial year, as well as the major activities across our program and executive operations. We are very excited to have delivered another outstanding report, which saw 372 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth supported across our various programs , an increase of 7.51 per cent from 2022. Out of the 372 participants registered, 99% are on track to complete their relevant year of education, employment or training. To read about our results in detail, you can access our annual report here: https://lnkd.in/gzKTVyEs

We are very excited to formerly announce that Ganbina board member Fallon Wanganeen has been approved as Chair of the Ganbina Board for 2024! Fallon is a proud Narugga man and has a proven track record for championing diversity and inclusion. Fallon joined the Board as a member in 2023 and has been an integral member of the team, sharing his experience and insights so we can continue to be the best organisation we can be. Sincere thanks to Fallon for nominating himself to be our Chair this year and congratulations on receiving board approval.

CALLING ALL AUSTRALIAN FURTHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS AND BUSINESSES! Are you looking to increase your Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student population or staff numbers? Then the Ganbina Careers Night is a great opportunity to get in front of the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. We are always on the lookout for further education providers, including TAFE and apprenticeship providers, as well as a range of businesses to exhibit at our Careers Night. In particular, this year we would love to see more businesses that offer trades and apprenticeships to sign up as exhibitors. The Careers Night is being held on Wednesday, May 1 from 5:30PM-7:30PM at Riverlinks Eastbank 70 Welsford St Shepparton. At past Careers Nights we have had exhibitors including ANZ, University of Melbourne, Defence Australia, Kmart Australia Limited, small and medium businesses, GOTAFE and many more. We feature businesses and RTOs of every size and industry. The more variety we have on the night, the better for our participants. If you are interested in exhibiting this year, contact Ganbina's Employment and Training Officer Dayna Seymour on [email protected] or phone 5821 7333. The expression of interest period for exhibitors will close Friday, April 19th.

MEET CHENNEIL Chenneil Fowler is a Ganbina Agent of Change and participant in the Ganbina Youth Leadership Program. Thanks to the program, Ganbina's mum Jean noticed Chenneil's confidence grow and was amazed by the opportunities she has had thanks to the program, including a trip to Sydney before the age of 15. Ganbina's Youth Leadership Program has been in operation since 2005. In this program, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth who have been identified as potential community leaders are selected to participate in an intimate leadership program. This program develops their leadership skills and capacity, as well as exposes them to significant cultural connections by involving them in regional, metropolitan, national and international trips. The Youth Leadership Program is one of many ways Ganbina develops our participants' life skills so they grow into local leaders and become Agents of Change for their community. https://lnkd.in/g2gPJU32

Last month Ganbina hosted it's largest Ganbina Youth Achievement Awards ever, with a record 251 people attending the celebration in December 2023. For the 2023 Awards, a total of 31 Awards were given out. Each winner was presented with a certificate and a cash prize in recognition of their achievements in Education, Training and Employment. The night is always a celebration of culture and the local language groups, with a Welcome to Country in traditional Yorta Yorta language by local Elder Djeta Merle Miller given on the night, as well as a traditional dance by the Kalithaban Dancers. You can find out more about this highlight on the Ganbina calendar, by reading more on the Ganbina blog: https://lnkd.in/gXhM4jfp

Yorta Yorta and Mutti Mutti man Colin Colger is a graduate of Ganbina's Jobs4U2 program. Today, his son Corey is a current Ganbina participant. Together they have both become Agents of Change in their communities. This is their story....

Our CEO Anthony Cavanagh this week attended a highly informative town hall meeting in Melbourne's CBD led by Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, Treasury and Employment Andrew Leigh MP. The meetings are an opportunity for the charity sector to come together to discuss how to improve engagement and trust with the sector, while there is a current productivity commission being conducted, with the aim of creating a blueprint for strengthening the capacity and capabilities of Australian charities. Thank you for the highly informative and engaging event!