Current projects
The Aspire Foundation
The Aspire Foundation has been working in partnerships with community organisations around Australia for twelve years now by assisting disadvantaged groups and individuals to access vocation education and training. In 2013, the Aspire Foundation is proud to support the following organisations in delivering much needed programs and services to their communities.
Migrant Resource Centre Southern Tasmania - ‘Creating Connections and Opportunities’ project
The Migrant Resource Centre Southern Tasmania (MRC) is a not-for-profit organisation which has helped migrants and refugees to settle in Tasmania for over 20 years. In 2011-12 and 2012-13, the Aspire Foundation has supported MRC to run the Creating Connections and Opportunities program. This is a work experience program for newly arrived migrants that allows eligible participants to gain important insight into working life in Australia through paid work experience with the added support of mentoring, workshops and other training and support leading up to the work experience and throughout the placement. So far, almost all participants have found ongoing work through their work experience placements or have pursued further study in their chosen field.
Funding: $15,000 in 2011-12, $8,000 in 2012-13.
National Disability Services WA - ‘Training and Assessment Mentoring Program’
NDS WA is a non-for-profit providing services to people with disabilities living in WA.This project, entitled Training and Assessment Mentoring Program, builds on the Empowering people with a disability to raise the standard of support worker training project that was funded by the Aspire Foundation in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The previously funded project, which was completed in January 2012, involved enrolling participants, all of whom have a disability, in the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, so that they could, upon completion, become trainers and assessors in the disability services sector. The purpose of the Training and Assessment Mentoring Program is to provide participants with the opportunity to gain the experience they need to perform trainer and assessor roles by offering mentoring to participants undertaking classroom assistant roles. They will build on the skills and knowledge gained through participation in the previous program and be supported in their application of these skills and knowledge in their working lives.
Funding: $15,000
Ardoch - The Way Forward: Pre-apprenticeship pathways project
The Aspire Foundation has been supporting Ardoch for a number of years. In 2011-12, Ardoch decided to run a high school program called The Way Forward: Pre-apprenticeship pathways which involves delivering a pre-apprenticeship pathways program to disengaged year 9 students to assist them in planning for their future careers. The Aspire Foundation supported this project in 2011-12 and 2012-13, which offers disengaged students from the College an opportunity to experience learning in the different trades offered through Gordon Institute of TAFE (GTEC) in Geelong. Participants have attended 10 weeks of pathways workshops at GTEC, looking at different trades and gaining insights and experience with the possibility of training options being offered for the future.
Funding: $15,000