Business as usual – When things are continuing as they always do, despite a difficult situation
The Cambridge Dictionary
ET Australia Training College – How we are currently operating may not look like business as usual, but given current circumstances, we can still achieve our primary goal of connecting Central Coast employers with qualified employable staff.
Like many Australian businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic has destined inevitable adjustments for ET Australia Training College. Although difficult at first, we are now embracing these modifications. Advice from students and employers has verified that the ET Australia Training College experience has been enhanced due to the extra supports and flexibility provided. In the face of Physical/Social distancing requirements and the isolation strategy the Australian government has put in place, ET Australia Training College is still able to offer all the services we did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What steps have we taken in the office?
ET Australia’s management team has implemented new ways of operating which have provided an opportunity for both classroom students and trainees to continue their study. You can rest assured that ET Australia Training College remains open for business five days a week as per usual. For instance, when visiting our Gosford campus, you will notice some vacant desks around the office, this is because our staff are now working from home 2-3 days a week to adhere to social distancing requirements. ET Australia has upgraded everyone’s computers to Microsoft Office 365. Now all staff can have remote access and communicate as usual even if they aren’t in the same physical workspace. This ensures the student/employer experience is consistent to the experience they would have had before the pandemic.
How have we changed the way we interact with each other?
Our classroom and traineeship training deliveries remain face to face and in real-time. ET Australia Training College has allowed students who need to remain at home (for a variety of reasons related to COVID-19) to attend face to face live training via teleconferencing technology. This allows our students to participate and interact in classes as they usually would. This interactive training is one of the reasons why ET Australia Training College students stand out to employers and are so sought after upon completing their qualification.
Our students who are still able to attend classroom training sessions will see a different reception area. Students can sign in maintaining the required 1.5. metres distancing rules, and have access to hand sanitiser. Some of our larger classes have been split into two groups to adhere to the 4 square metres per person policies. Although this has created additional work for our Trainers, the concept will allow students to complete the theory components of their program within the original scheduled timeframe.
The pets of ET Australia Training College now make daily appearances on Zoom calls…
How have we changed the way we interact with the Central Coast community?
Our Business Development team are still able to attend meetings with a variety of employers and agencies through contactless teleconferencing technology. This has been a great way to collaborate with other agencies and support our students. Our team is always seeking out new organisations to work with. If a workplace is seeking to upskill current employees, or looking to hire entry-level staff over the next few months, we can organise a contactless meeting to discuss individual needs and find solutions. Although it may look different, we can still achieve our primary goal of training for employment and connecting Central Coast employers with qualified employable staff as well and entry-level trainees.
Through this change, what new business opportunities have come about?
Last month amid the changes COVID-19 has bought, ET Australia Training College saw success in delivering a pre-traineeship program with a Disability provider based in the Lower Hunter. We assisted the employer to advertise and recruit fifteen people to participate in a three-week training program where upon successful completion students issued with a Statement of Attainment from CHC33015 Certificate lll in Individual Support (Disability). Both our ET Australia Training College Trainer and Assessor and the employer looked at class attendance, student participation and matched employer and participant values. Upon completion, six people were offered traineeship positions within the company with an immediate start. For the students who were not successful, they still completed two accredited units from the qualification and will be competitive in future positions they apply for.
In January, ET Australia Training College saw the completion of an employment program with a large, Central Coast-based, local aged care employer. Fourteen students completed training on-site at the facility and achieved the CHC33015 Certificate lll in Individual Support (Ageing). ET Australia Training College incorporated the organisation’s policies and procedures into the training so that upon completion the students were fundamentally inducted and ready to start work. 12 out of 14 graduates were offered immediate employment. This dramatically reduced the organisation’s HR investment and the associated costs. Due to this success, the facility is currently hosting another employment program onsite so they can continue to add to their workforce as business demands. The Care Manager of the facility advised that given the success of the first program, management are now looking to implement similar employment programs into all their facilities nationwide.
At any given time, ET Australia Training College has up to five classroom programs being delivered at a Certificate lll level across three large growth areas here on the coast – Business, Aged care and Childcare. Even through these unprecedented and challenging times, this is no different. ET Australia Training College has continued to operate as usual including the face to face delivery of training programs to assist the local community to learn new skills and transition into employment. We are committed to continuing to evolve and will be here to support the Central Coast community now and into the future. For businesses looking at their workforce development over the next 12 months, our staff can investigate how we can assist and come up with solutions to reduce the cost of hiring. The world is changing and as Central Coast businesses start to regrow after COVID-19, hiring entry-level workers is a great way to ease into it as our economy climbs back. ET Australia Training College would love to be a part of the solution.
RTO ID 90084