Industry Workforce Advisors appointed

CheckUP has been contracted by the Department of Trade, Employment and Training (DTET, previously known as the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training, DESBT) to deliver the Industry Workforce Advisors initiative for the health industry. Industry Workforce Advisors help employers:

• identify solutions to their workforce challenges
• connect with relevant programs and funding, industry-based initiatives and grant funding, and Australian Government wage subsidies and employer incentives.

Your Industry Workforce Advisors

• First Nations Industry Workforce Advisor (Health Care and Social Assistance)
• Health Industry Workforce Advisor.

Vicky Meyer, who previously coordinated our Health Industry Skills Advisor program at CheckUP will now be managing the Health Industry Workforce Advisor program.

What is an Industry Workforce Advisor?

The aim of the Industry Workforce Advisor program is to provide workforce planning assistance to small to medium employers enabling them to address workforce challenges, diversify their workforces, and support workforce growth.Maximising workforce participation enables employers to draw on a larger talent pool, ensuring all Queenslanders have access to employment opportunities, particularly people who have previously been underrepresented in the workplace.

CheckUP’s Industry Workforce Advisors will work directly with employers to:

• Create an individual workforce plan which identifies and addresses workforce challenges
• Access funded HR support/solutions for their business
• Diversify and support workforce growth
• Assist in developing recruitment strategies
• Access accredited and non-accredited industry training
• Develop plans to assist with workforce attraction and retention
• Connect with relevant programs and funding, industry-based initiatives and grant funding, and Australian Government wage subsidies and employer incentives.

How to connect with your Industry Workforce Advisor

We are inviting Expressions of Interest from small to medium health employers across Queensland to access workforce planning assistance and services, through the Industry Workforce Advisors.

To complete an Expression of Interest and have one of our Industry Workforce Advisors contact you please click here. To speak directly to an Industry Workforce Advisor you can contact them on the details listed below.

First Nations Industry Workforce Advisor (Health Care and Social Assistance), Andrew Legg, E: alegg@checkup.org.au M: 0498 801 004

Health Industry Workforce Advisor, Vicky Meyer, E: vmeyer@checkup.org.au M: 0436 814 501

More information about the Industry Workforce Advisor program is available on our website.

Launch of Annual Report and IMPACT magazine

It gives us great pleasure to advise that both CheckUP’s Annual Report for 2021-2022 and the 9th edition of IMPACT magazine were officially launched at our Annual General Meeting on Friday 25 November. These publications are now available for you to view online.

You’ll see within the Annual Report – and its companion IMPACT magazine – an insight into what has been achieved during the past financial year. This work was made possible through the support of our valued funders, partners, members, and providers.

Our heartfelt thanks to all of you for your contribution to our vision of better health for people and communities that need it most. Collectively, we have been able to ensure communities, particularly our most vulnerable, received much-needed access to health services.

We hope you take the time to read these publications and learn more about our work!

• Read the Annual Report
• Read IMPACT magazine

Director Elections 2022: Results

The CheckUP Board is pleased to advise that Dr Tina Janamian and Ms Jennifer Pouwer have been re-elected as Directors of the Company, each for a three-year term starting at the close of the 2022 Annual General Meeting on Friday 25 November.

Dr Janamian is the CEO of Client Focussed Evaluation Program Surveys and Care Opinion. She has considerable experience in business development and commercialisation across a range of industries, as well as an active academic load as a reviewer for reputable journals and a member of editorial boards.

Ms Pouwer consults in health and community services. She has extensive Chief Executive experience in a range of organisations and sectors, and has led several successful organisations transformation projects.

Thank you to those members who voted in the CheckUP 2022 Director Election; your active participation in the company’s governance practices is very valuable.

Meet our team: Conor

Meet our Multiprogram Support Business Officer, Conor! Conor is a valued member of the Communications and Engagement team. He originally joined CheckUP back in 2018, playing a crucial role in supporting the coordination of Queensland Mental Health Week. This year Conor has taken on a broader role at CheckUP, working across several different projects. While he continues to work on QMHW, he also supports our Access for All and Genomics for GPs projects.

What does a typical day look like for you?
There is no typical day at CheckUP! Lately I’ve been very busy with Queensland Mental Health Week which happens in October. For QMHW, I have mostly been responding to inquiries, publishing events on the website, and managing the merchandise. In the months leading up to the week, there’s a lot of planning, collaboration, and direct outreach that has to happen to make things run smoothly.

What do you enjoy about working for CheckUP?
CheckUP does a lot of good, important work and I like being a small part of that. It’s also a very friendly and flexible place to work which is great.

What are 3 words you would use to describe CheckUP?
Caring, Friendly, Collaborative.

What activities do you enjoy when you’re not working?
I like to go indoor bouldering as often as I can. I also enjoy trivia and I’m working on my (very poor) chess game.

Who did you last listen to when you drove/flew somewhere?
Probably Nick Cave.

2022 Annual General Meeting

CheckUP’s 2022 Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday 25 November 2022, at 4.30pm (AEST).
Members may attend in person at the CheckUP offices or via a video conference link. All meeting details appear in the formal Notice of Meeting available at the link below.

Also linked below are a proxy appointment form and the audited financial statements for year ended 30 June 2022.

• Notice of AGM
• Proxy Appointment Form
• Audited Financial Statements FY

CheckUP successfully hosts the inaugural Health Gateway to Industry Schools Forum

CheckUP hosted the inaugural Health Gateway to Industry Schools Forum on Friday 8 October 2021.

We would like to thank Hon. Di Farmer, the Minister for Employment and Small Business, Minister for Training and Skills Development for her opening speech and launch of the Health Gateway to Industry School project. We would also like to thank the Indigenous Dance Troupe from St James College for performing a great Welcome to Country to start the day. A special thank you to our Keynote speakers, Prof. Stephen Billett, Shaz Gerchow and Vicky Meyer. Thank you to the presenters from the morning and afternoon sessions as well as the panel. Thank you to our trade displays and sponsors for the day and finally a thank you to all of the delegates who took the time to attend both in person and virtually. Feedback from the event so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

Thank you to Gary from Armchair Medical for recording the day. Video recordings from the day can be viewed here.

Please find below a list of some presentations from the day:

Keynote speakers

Prof. Stephen Billett, Griffith University – Post-school pathway decision making (Part 1)

Prof. Stephen Billett, Griffith University – Post-school pathway decision making (Part 2)

Prof. Stephen Billett, Griffith University – Post-school pathway decision making (Handout)

Presentations

Llew Paulger, Principal, Kelvin Grove State College – The Power of Partnerships

Alison Nelson, IUIH – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Pathways

Robyn Pedler, Sunnybank State High School – Transition to Employment

Concurrent Sessions

Adam Stephen, OSMAC – Work Placements

Juanine Passfield, AHPOQ – Allied Health Careers

Busy times for the Health Gateway Program team

Terms two and three are by far the busiest months for the Health Gateway to Industry Schools Program (Gateway) team with most of our schools hosting Career Expos and information sessions for their students, families and local community members during these terms.

Many of these events have taken place in the Southeast corner of the state with Gateway to Industry Schools Manager, Sabrina Kerr attending five events over the past month. During this time Sabrina spoke with students from Trinity College – Beenleigh, Mabel Park State High School, St Michael’s – Merrimac and McAuley College – Beaudesert about the Health Gateway, Choose Your Own Health Career website and the Healthcare is Everywhere online learning resource.

Kat Murray, who supports schools in Brisbane North and the Sunshine Coast also attended a Careers Expo at Trinity College and the St James College Open Day. Kat spent the day at St James College speaking to prospective students, their families and community members about the program and showcased the great resources that are available for students who undertake the Cert II in Health Support Services and Cert III in Health Service Assistance qualifications coordinated by the college.

Central Queensland Gateway Manager and Regional Coordinator, Cassie French travelled to Yeppoon to attend the St Ursual’s College Yeppoon Careers Event where she spoke to students about the Health GISP program. Students were interested in hearing about the program and the resources available to them.

In addition to the Career Expos and information sessions the team have also been busy meeting with schools interested in partnering with the Health GISP. General Manager, David Millichap and North and North West Gateway Manager and Regional Coordinator Lyn Anderson recently met with Spinifex State College in Mount Isa who are keen to join the Health GISP.

If you would like further information about the Health Gateway to Industry Schools program please click here.

To view our Choose Your Own Health Career website please click here.

For our online interactive resource, Healthcare is Everywhere please click here.

We would like to extend a big thank you to the schools who invited us along to attend their events this month and all of those schools who have reached out and are interested in the Health Gateway to Industry Schools Program. We would also like to encourage our existing Gateway Schools to please advise the Regional Manager if you have any upcoming events you require our assistance with as soon as possible (see details below).

• Brisbane South and Gold Coast
  Sabrina Kerr | sabrinakerr@checkup.org.au
• Brisbane North and Sunshine Coast
  Kat Murray | kmurray@checkup.org.au
• Wide Bay, Central and Central West Queensland
  Cassie French | cfrench@checkup.org.au
• Townsville, Mackay and North West Queensland
  Brianna Delacour | bdelacour@checkup.org.au
• Cairns and Far North Queensland
  Melanie Sheridan | msheridan@checkup.org.au
• Toowoomba and South West Queensland
  Isabelle Walker | iwalker@checkup.org.au

New grant round responds to mental health needs of young Queenslanders

With a new school term starting today (19 April), organisations supporting young Queenslanders are being urged to apply for a new grant round supporting youth mental health.

Individual grants of $500 or $1000 are available to eligible organisations to help them facilitate  Queensland Mental Health Week events and activities targeted to young people aged 21 and under.

The funding is part of the Queensland Mental Health Week Community Events Grant Program, an initiative funded by the Queensland Mental Health Commission and administered by CheckUP.

Queensland Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic said strengthening the mental health and wellbeing of young people could prevent and reduce the impact of mental illness, problematic alcohol and other drug use, and suicide.

“We know that almost half of all lifetime mental health problems start before a child is 14 years old,” Mr Frkovic said.*

“As a community, we need to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing, so they can achieve their potential, particularly following the disruption COVID-19 caused to their lives.”

“These grants will provide young people with opportunities to connect with peers while undertaking positive wellbeing activities, and share critical information about where, how, and why it is important to access mental health services and support.”

CheckUP CEO Ann Maree Liddy said the introduction of the new grant round follows a significant increase in school engagement with Queensland Mental Health Week over the past couple of years.

“We know that mental health is the number one health issue facing young people,” Ms Liddy said.

“By providing funding directly to school P&Cs, P&Fs and grassroots organisations working with young people, we hope to support community-led responses, tailored to local needs, and in turn, help improve the mental health and wellbeing of young Queenslanders.”

Queensland Mental Health Week will be held from 8-16 October, encompassing World Mental Health Day on 10 October, with the theme ‘Awareness, Belonging, Connection’.

Grant applications for the Youth Grant Round close on Friday 12 May. More information, including the grant guidelines, is available at www.qldmentalhealthweek.org.au.

Young Australians needing support can access free services through Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), their local headspace or online through eheadspace. For 24/7 crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. In an emergency, call 000.

– ENDS – 

* Statistics: Beyond Blue

Media enquiries:

• CheckUP, Lisa Maynard, lmaynard@checkup.org.au, 07 3105 8308
• QMHC, Kate Southwell, kate.southwell@qmhc.qld.gov.au, 0409 275 385

Safe media reporting

Visit the Mindframe website at www.mindframe.org.au for advice on how to support safe media reporting, portrayal and communication about suicide, mental ill-health, and problematic alcohol and other drug use.