VET Cadet Program

A very big welcome to the 2020 Aboriginal VET Cadets who started with Transport on Monday 10 August!

Our 10 VET Cadets have been placed across the Transport cluster for their two year work placements and will also complete a Certificate IV in Business Administration/Project Management.

They have just completed a 5 day induction with ELTP which for the first time was a combination of face to face and virtual delivery. It was a hugely successful week and our team has been blown away by the dedication and enthusiasm of our new intake. We wish them all the best as they begin their careers with Transport!

We are excited to announce that applications are now open for the TfNSW 2020 VET Cadet Program.

This is a great opportunity to join our organisation and get involved in big projects doing real work along with top quality training and development to help you grow! Successful applicants will also graduate with a nationally accredited Certificate IV qualification in Business, Project Management or Information Technology.

Please share this with your family and friends. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply via this link or reach out to any of the contacts below for further assistance.

For any enquiries please contact:

Michael Dunstone: Yarn’n – (02) 9319 4000 or michael@yarnn.com.au

Annette Lamb: TfNSW, Senior Aboriginal Employment Officer – 0478 316 192 or annette.lamb@transport.nsw.gov.au

Jessica Craig: TfNSW, Talent Specialist – 0478 316 192 or jessica.craig@transport.nsw.gov.au

Applications close at 11.59pm on 5 April 2020.

The Transport Young Professional’s Network (TYPN) provides opportunities for young employees to be proactive in their professional growth. The TYPN aims to provide a forum for young professionals to:

• develop Cross-Transport Cluster and NSW Public Sector connections,
• exchange ideas and organisational knowledge, and
• support each other in their professional growth and development.

The NSW Institute of Public Administration Association (IPAA) and YPN are hosting an annual CEO and Young Professionals Breakfast as per the details below.

Event Details

When: Friday 27 March 2017, 7:15AM -9:00AM (Registrations open at 6:45am)
Where: Grand Ballroom, Convention Centre, ICC Sydney, 14 Darling Drive, Darling Harbour, Sydney

This year’s event will include a debate similar to the ABC’s TV show Q & A. Two teams will present their ideas on the topic“to be successful in my role, my focus should be on creating individual value for our customers or creating public value”.

Afterwards, attendees can engage in a table discussion with their senior leaders on the topic, highlighting how it relates to them and their roles.

The breakfast provides young professionals and CEOs with an opportunity to network and share their thoughts and experiences.

Apply Now!

This event is overwhelmingly popular so if you are interested in attending, please fill out this application . Successful applicants will be contacted by email and sent an official invitation.

More information

For more information about the TYPN and how to get involved in their events click here.

A very warm welcome to Annette Lamb, our new Senior Aboriginal Advisor! Our team is very excited to have Annette on-board. As well as providing support and advice to our program participants and their managers, Annette will also be taking on some exciting projects for ELTP including the re-design of our HSC Scholar program and Placement Manager Capability Upskill.

Annette is a Ngunawal Wiradjuri woman, her mother is a Whitaker from the Yass Valley near Canberra. She lives on the land of the Dharawal people in South West area of Sydney, she is a mother and a grandmother of three beautiful girls.

Annette has held executive positions with Local Aboriginal Land Councils of which she is an active member. She has been a member of numerous Aboriginal advisory committees such as NAIDOC, Local Government Councils, Sydney Health District, South Western Area Health District & Elders Olympics.

Annette was invited to be a member of the Australian Delegation to the United Nations in NYC for the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples in 2018.

Annette has worked in the employment industry for over 25 years. She commenced her career in commercial recruitment working with international consultancies such as Adecco, Manpower and Hays, she has experience in the not for profit sector with Job active & DES. She has managed Group Training operations and was a Senior Leadership Executive with Aboriginal Employment Strategy managing Contracts and Governance across all programs nationally.

Annette has Disability Employment experience as the General Manager Aboriginal Programs & Strategy for a DES provider.

She worked closely with National Indigenous Australians Agency to establish employment programs for the new Yarpa Indigenous Business & Employment Hub for the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, supporting infrastructure employment and procurement across the state.

Annette holds an Advanced Diploma in Business and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Certificate IV in Employment Services.

Over the coming weeks, I will be inviting Annette to come along and spend some time with you and your placement manager to understand your experience on the VET Cadet program so far and how she can best support you and your manager.

Transport for NSW is one of the organisations that are members of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE).

AAGE is an independent, not-for-profit body, representing over 300 employer organisations who recruit graduates in Australia and New Zealand.

This survey is designed to collect feedback from participants from our Scholar or Cadet or VET Cadet Programs in the past 12 months.

We are asking that you participate in this surveyto provide your feedback. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and is anonymous.

The survey is designed to collect your views and perspectives on a range of matters relating to your employment with us and your experiences within our Scholar, Cadet and VET Cadet Programs.

We will use this data to improve our Programs and to maintain our position as one of the leading employers in the market.

Please complete the survey by Friday 28^th February 2020.

We will also be sending calendar invite’s to block out time in your diary to complete the survey.

Thanking you in advance

Entry Level Talent Programs

People and Culture

E TalentPrograms@transport.nsw.gov.au

Level 4, 2-14 Elsie Street, Burwood NSW 2134

Use public transport... plan your trip at transportnsw.info

We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land upon which our office sits.

A very warm welcome to our 2020 VET Cadet Surveyors, Kaitlyn Sheridan and Dylan Nazer-Lamb, who commenced with Transport last week!

The TfNSW VET Cadet Surveying Program employs individuals for a 3 year period where they work full time whilst completing a Certificate III, IV and Diploma in Surveying through TAFE NSW. This program was established in 2017 for former RMS as a pathway for people wanting to pursue a career in surveying and has since had two successful intakes with 3 VET Cadet Surveyors also transitioning successfully into roles in Transport.

Kaitlyn Sheridan will be joining our surveying team in Wagga Wagga while Dylan Nazer-Lamb will be joining the surveying team in Bega.

Last week, Kaitlyn and Dylan completed a jam packed induction with Entry Level Talent Programs in Sydney including an Amazing Race and Hackathon challenge and a behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

We are very excited to have Kaitlyn and Dylan on board and we wish them all the best in their program!

As 2019 draws to a close, I'd like to take this opportunity to celebrate all the things we have achieved in the VET Cadet program this year. Here are some highlights from the year.

• Six VET Cadets transitioned into internal roles!
• Four VET Cadet Surveyors commenced their program in January this year.
• We have successfully recruited another two VET Cadet Surveyors who will commence their program in January 2020.
• Our 2018 Aboriginal VET Cadets celebrated 12 months at Transport
• 2018 VET Cadet, Christine Saunders, presented an Acknowledgement of Country to around 500 attendees at this years’ International Women’s Day event held at the International Convention Centre. Christine has also been recently recognised for Empowering Leadership at the Rail Delivery Project awards. Well done Christine!
• 2018 VET Cadet, Reece Thompson, completed the 2019 Smart Seeds program.
• And lastly but definitely not least - two VET Cadets won awards at this years' End of Year Talent Forum! Congratulations to Christine Saunders for taking out the Integrity Award and to Tullarah Simpson to winning our 2019 Talent Participant of the Year!!

In October, VET Cadet Christine Saunders had an exciting opportunity to attend the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) Connect Conference in Melbourne with members of her placement team. Here Christine shares about her experience at the conference.

On 17 October, members of the Regional Rail Project’s Regional Development team attended the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) ISCA Connect conference in Melbourne.

ISCA connect is a three day conference that focuses on environment and sustainability in the infrastructure field. This year many of the panels highlighted the importance of social sustainability.

Some standout presentations included Brandi Hudson’s, CEO of the Independent Maori Statutory and member of Auckland Council key note speech around integrating Indigenous values into the built environment to show respect and regard for first nation people.

On the Social Sustainability panel we heard from Alexia Hilbertidou, founder and CEO of Girlboss NZ. Girlboss NZ’s mission is to close the gender gap in Science, Technology, Maths, and Leadership.

In the afternoon, Regional Rail team members Dr Jane Inglis, Maxine Greenfield and Royston Douglas presented on the Regional Rail Project’s approach to engagement with Aboriginal stakeholders. The presentation touched on return on investment from the Project’s Aboriginal Working Group and steps the team will take in the future to further engage our stakeholders.

They took a story telling approach to the presentation to pay respect to Aboriginal culture and ways of communicating.

I really enjoyed attending the conference and learning from each presenter on how they view social procurement and sustainability and hearing about the steps they are taking to make these lines of work into business as usual in their organisations.

This month sees the launch of 'Where Are They Now?' articles which is a new initiative designed to share the career journeys of previous VET Cadets and the challenges and achievements they have faced along the way.

This month I met with Yasmin Kiss who was part of the 2016 intake for the Aboriginal VET Cadet program. Yasmin completed a Certificate IV in Project Management. During the first 12 months of her program, Yasmin was placed in former RMS at the Wollongong office where she started developing her project management skills.

Here Yasmin talks about her experience during and after the program.

What role did you land in directly after the program?

After coming off the VET Cadet program in November 2018, I went into the role of Operations Officer in the Network Services Division of NSW TrainLink.

Are you still in this role today?

Yes, I have been in this role since leaving the program.

Is this the role you aspired to or envisioned for yourself when you were on the program?

I didn’t know what role I wanted to go into after the program. Around the time that I started the program, back in 2016, I fell pregnant and then had 12 months leave before coming back to Transport to resume my program. I was just happy to be back at Transport and start focussing on my career again.

When I returned to Transport, I worked closely with my placement manager, James McKenna, who assigned me duties that were very similar to the role of the Operations Officer . My role included cleaning audits, banking and invoicing, and catering services.

Looking back at your time on the program, what were the highlights?

During the last 12 months of my program, I won a Talent Recognition award for the category of customer service which was presented to me at the end of year Talent Forum.

What is the one key thing you took away from your time on the program?

I really feel that I improved my communication skills while on the program because I was moving between different teams in the first 12 months at RMS but also moving into a completely different Transport agency when I came back after leave and had to build relationships with a new team. It really helped that my manager in NSW Trainlink had had a VET Cadet previously and was really supportive.

What did you enjoy most about the program?

I liked that the program gave me an opportunity to work full time while learning and gaining a qualification. I also enjoyed having the support while on the program.

What advice would you give to current participants coming towards the end of their program?

For me personally, towards the end of my program, I was trying to actively work on my skills and put my hand up with any work and /or opportunites.

The 2019 ELTP Annual Forum is around the corner and those of you that are headquartered or currently placed regionally you will need to submit travel requests in order to make your way to Sydney to attend the event.

The full day event will be held on Friday 29 November at Doltone House, Darling Island in Sydney.

This annual event is an integral part of your development program and you’re expected to attend. If you have not already accepted the invite please do so prior to submitting your Travel Request. It’s an opportunity to access professional development, recognition and program updates. As a networking event, the ELTP Annual Forum is also a valuable opportunity for you to develop supportive relationships with your fellow participants and gain professional insights from the Transport leaders in attendance.

Regional Vet Cadets –

Please submit a travel request in equip and (make sure you enter the Travel Services request for flights and accommodation) to arrive in Sydney Thursday morning (28^th November 2019).

You will be taking part in a Regional Talent Catch-up that will be held at Petersham and will commence at 1pm (more information regarding this will follow). Please request accommodation for Thursday night and then you will be travelling back to your HQ on Friday (Late afternoon/evening).

Please complete this request in Equip ASAP. This request MUST be submitted for approval at the latest by COB Tuesday 12^th Novemberin order to be approved and processed.