Communities at Work celebrates fourth consecutive Large Employer of the Year win

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider Communities at Work has been named as the ACT’s Large Employer of the Year for a fourth consecutive year. 

The award recognises a large organisation with a demonstrated commitment to training its employees and encouraging and assisting them in their employment-related development. Almost 500 of the Communities at Work team are employed in the ECEC sector. 

Communities at Work CEO Lee Maiden said the provider was thrilled to again be recognised, saying they have a strong commitment to developing the best people, which in turn means a highly skilled and qualified team results. 

“To be an employer of choice, and to deliver the best quality programs and services, we need to continually invest in our people,” she said. 

“Personally, I am so incredibly proud of our RTO: the integrity they bring to training, what they bring to our organisation to make sure we’re addressing the workforce shortage in early childhood and have the best educators we possibly can. And that’s why we keep winning this – because we are so committed to being the best organisation we can be.”

Communities at Work’s learning and development strategies are designed to support organisational excellence and career development. Winning the award for the fourth year in a row demonstrates the organisation’s continuing investment in employees, including the development of inclusive workspaces to attract learners from culturally diverse backgrounds, Ms Maiden added. 

One ECEC trainee from Communities at Work, who completed the Ascend program in 2021, after first arriving in Australia in 2015 shared their experience saying; 

“When I started my study, I was confused because of cultural barriers and not confident in my verbal communication skills. My trainer spent lots of time supporting me through my study, not just to do the course but also to understand the true meaning and reasons behind each sentence.”

“As I am a visual learner, my trainer also used drawing and simplified diagrams to explain and direct me. After I finished my study, I introduced more than seven other people (most of them migrants) to this course as they definitely will receive the best support from the trainers, who are committed and kind towards everyone, regardless of their religion, background, culture and language.”

Communities at Work is also thrilled to have one of its RTO trainer/assessors, Chloe Brewer, nominated as a finalist in the ACT VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year category. Chloe joined Communities at Work almost a decade ago as a university student doing a placement at its Richardson Child Care and Education Centre, alongside her studies to become a primary school teacher.

Since then, she has moved within the organisation’s various services, from educator to leadership roles in early education and care and outside school hours care, to currently working as a Trainer/Assessor at Communities at Work’s RTO The Centre of Professional Learning and Education (CPLE).

As one of Chloe’s students, a graduate in the Diploma of Early Childhood said:

“Without Chloe’s guidance and unwavering support, I would not have had the confidence to go after my dream of furthering my studies and career. She allowed me to grow and find myself in early education and has inspired me to be the best I can be. She isn’t just Educator of the Year; she’s Educator of the Century!” 

As a result of its ACT win, Communities at Work will be in contention for National recognition at the Australian Training Awards to be held in November this year.

Pictured are CEO Lee Maiden, RTO trainer finalist Chloe Brewer, and RTO Manager, Carla Scalia