Published on Thursday, 20 February 2020 at 10:22:33 AM
Three Great Southern residents took part in the Shire of Denmark’s innovative Train the Trainer program this month, sparking new career opportunities as accessibility and inclusion trainers.
Geoff Hill, Anwen Handmer and Kaleisha Bass participated in the specifically designed program, which aims to provide the skills, confidence and knowledge to deliver accessibility and inclusion awareness training to businesses and the broader community.
After completing the two-day program the participants will go on to develop and deliver a Diversity Inclusion and Capacity Building Training program for the staff at the Shires of Denmark and Plantagenet.
Working alongside the Shire’s community development team throughout the project is Denmark Senior High School student Tyler Hartfield who commenced a traineeship with the Shire this month. Tyler’s interests in advocacy and diversity will see him participate in the Disability Services working group and help to deliver youth projects including the annual 4Youth Fest.
Acting Shire of Denmark CEO David Schober said that incorporating the trainers’ valuable insights into the program development stage will have a significant impact on breaking down barriers to inclusion and accessibility.
“Integrating the knowledge and lived experiences of the trainers when developing the training creates meaningful content and will help fulfil our community’s collective vision of inclusivity,” he said.
The project is paving the way for similar initiatives to be rolled out nationally with the training materials being packaged and offered to other local governments.
The Shire’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan – a roadmap towards an accessible an inclusive community – advocates providing employment, training and volunteering opportunities for people with disability within the shire.
“We are very proud of this project which we hope will provide ongoing opportunities for participants. We are excited to see the career pathways that open up for the trainers and the impact their services will have across not only businesses but the whole community and beyond,” Mr Schober said.
The Train the Trainer course was developed by Disability Services Consulting in partnership with employment service APM with support from the Shire of Denmark.
Funding for the Lighthouse project is provided by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and administered by the Department of Communities.
*
L-R: Geoff, Anwen,Tyler, Kaleisha
Back to All News