Carers Queensland announces partnership with Burnie Brae
In a bold effort to attract and train more people to work in the community services sector, Carers Queensland’s Registered Training Organisation (RTO) has officially partnered with renowned Brisbane based not-for-profit, Burnie Brae.
This new partnership gives unpaid carers in Queensland access to vocational placements and employment opportunities, and at the same time, enables Burnie Brae to improve and develop the capabilities of its workforce.
For over 30 years, Burnie Brae has sought to build strong community connections by providing quality health, lifestyle and care services to their clients and members.
Similarly, Carers Queensland has supported and advocated for unpaid carers throughout Queensland for more than 31 years.
Its RTO started operating 10 years ago, and since then, it’s been making connections with the community services industry and conducting regular consultation with local employers and agencies to ensure its training is aligned to contemporary and current practices.
Therefore, the support of a community services provider like Burnie Brae makes a significant impact as Carers Queensland’s RTO continues to work on its commitment to invest in accredited training and make life better for people in the community.
To Burnie Brae’s Home Care Coordinator, Leah Randle, the new partnership represents a step in the right direction to increase their connections further.
“We’re very excited about this partnership which will assist us to meet consumer needs and retain and build on the wonderful reputation Burnie Brae has in the community”, she said.
“The aged care industry is facing an extreme shortage of care workers, with some experts suggesting urgent action must be taken to boost the workforce,” she said.
“With a shared focus on improving the lives of those who need care through providing support based on individual needs, the partnership simply makes sense.”
“This collaboration with Carers Queensland gives Burnie Brae the opportunity to work with an organisation whose values align with ours, to attract and train people to work with us in the community services sector”.
“We believe that alongside Carers Queensland, we will be able to attract students who have life experiences caring for people, and who have a genuine interest in working in the sector.”
“This allows us to join forces and work together to make a difference in improving the quality of life of those in our community.”
“Carers Queensland is a good fit for Burnie Brae when it comes to a partnership, due to our alignment of values, and the complimentary nature of what each organisation does.”
Discussions with Burnie Brae began early in 2020 as Carers Queensland launched its Your Caring Way program which offers free employment services and subsidised training options to carers in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.
Your Caring Way’s Business Development Officer, Leona Munday said they saw it as not only a chance to collaborate with industry but also a growth opportunity for Carers Queensland’s RTO.
“Burnie Brae aligns very much so with our values.”
“From there, we had some roundtable discussions and we put forward a proposal for them on how we could help them grow their business as well,” Leona said.
“The partnership provides us with an opportunity to go out into the industry, demonstrate our skills, and the high level of training that we can provide.”
“The biggest gap in the industry right now is mostly the Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability and Ageing) and that's where the RTO comes in”.
“Carers Queensland’s RTO is already delivering this course to carers and the general public.”
“Now, this partnership allows us to provide Certificate III in Individual Support training to Burnie Brae’s employees and work collaboratively to co-brand recruitment drives to increase their workforce and equally gain more students for the RTO.”
“Moreover, it will provide Burnie Brae with qualified, well-rounded students who are able to support the organisation’s goals.”
“Burnie Brae provide services for people who are wanting to stay in their homes. Their staff will support them with their daily living activities and ensure that they have a good quality of life, while they're staying at home, rather than going into residential care,” Leona added.
Working together with Burnie Brae means substantial and effective support for carers.
When asked why carers, Burnie Brae’s Home Care Coordinator, Leah Randle said, “we believe people with a genuine understanding and lived experience as a carer make the best students and have a real understanding and passion for what it is to be a care worker.”
And we couldn’t agree more.
“I think it's the actual way that you care for people that is most important; you're invested, and you’re able to provide a more personalised service. You have an additional level of connection with the customers because you have a higher level of empathy and understanding,” Leona said.
The partnership, in a nutshell, denotes a win-win collaboration for everyone involved including the organisations and its different programs and services, students, carers and employees.
“We feel very honoured to be able to work with Carers Queensland and Your Caring Way to assist carers wanting to pursue training and to work in a caring role,” Leah said.
“Students will benefit from the chance to receive paid work with Burnie Brae during their training, to learn alongside experienced care workers, as well as having a potential pathway to long-term employment.”
“In a time of shortage of care workers in our industry, this addition of students to our workforce will allow Burnie Brae to provide high quality care to more consumers who are in need.”
For Carers Queensland this latest collaborative endeavour builds trusted connections within the industry and helps create better experiences for carers which is well aligned with Burnie Brae’s mission too.
“We are passionate about supporting those in our community to stay connected and to provide quality, health, lifestyle, and wellness services,” Leah said.
