Goodstart celebrates 7 First Nations interns who completed CareerTrackers program

Goodstart Early Learning has celebrated the learning journey of seven First Nations interns who completed the CareerTrackers Summer Internship program last Friday.

 

During the summer university break, from November 2021 to February 2022, Goodstart teams from across the network supported university undergraduates to gain real world experience in partnership with CareerTrackers in departments such as social Inclusion, property, IT, professional learning, corporate affairs and in a variety of early learning centres.

 

CareerTrackers is a national not-for-profit organisation with the goal of creating pathways for Indigenous university students to gain industry experience through paid internship opportunities, creating a foundation and pathway to bright professional futures. 

 

Goodstart began its partnership with CareerTrackers in 2016, and Workforce Diversity Manager Simone Miller said that she is proud to see the program continue to grow, particularly across Goodstart’s Centre Support Office (CSO) team.

 

“It is so exciting to have completed another internship period and to have seen the amazing projects and experiences that our interns had over the past 12 weeks,” she said.

 

The most recent internship period saw Goodstart host more CSO-based interns than ever before, something Ms Miller hopes is just the beginning in terms of the continued success of the program. 

 

Reflection on learning 

 

To conclude their internship period each of the interns presented their learnings and reflections about their personal and professional journey during a group presentation. The group presentation was attended by more than 60 Goodstarters involving managers, team members and CareerTrackers advisors. The end of internship presentation is a formal part of the CareerTrackers program that aims to support interns to build their skills and confidence in public speaking.

 

Participant Emily Boland, who worked with the Goodstart Corporate Affairs Team, said the experience has been invaluable.

 

“From the time I started 12 weeks ago to now, I feel proud of what I have achieved,” she said.

 

“It’s enabled me to put into practice many things I am learning at university, and it has helped build my confidence while also reinforcing this is the career path I want to take once I finish my studies.”

 

Goodstart Cultural Liaison Officer Melody Ingra said that she was “full of pride” to see the young First Nations interns joining the Goodstart community, adding that each of them “has brought so much value to their teams with their own unique perspectives and lived experiences”.

 

“The interns’ positive experience is also a reflection of the work that Goodstart has done towards Reconciliation in creating a culturally safe space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to gain a sense of belonging in our workplace,” she added. 

 

Interns will return over the June/July university break for the CareerTrackers Winter internship period.

 

More information about the CareerTrackers program can be found here. To learn more about Goodstart’s reconciliation journey see here.