Education & training

Yamba chef Marley Van Den Boom has brought invaluable food knowledge and skills back to his hometown after completing a three-month internship at the restaurant that has been named the world’s best multiple times, Japan’s three-Michelin-star restaurant Noma. The 22-year-old told the CV Independent he started working in a Yamba café aged 14 as a dish washer while in high school...

Of all the things that I get asked the most when mentoring a leader – is to help them when they are feeling vulnerable. The chances are we will all feel daunted or overwhelmed at some stage in our lives. Challenging times will always impact our confidence. Life is uncertain. At some point, we will feel vulnerable, uncomfortable, and unsure of ourselves. This is a normal phenomenon.

Ambulance Victoria (AV) is looking for more recruits to join the Ambulance Community Officer (ACO) team in Corryong. ACOs are First Responders, who are employed on a casual basis to work ‘on call’ in rural and remote communities where the ambulance caseload is low and the ambulance branch is not staffed by multiple paramedics on a full-time basis.

Farmers rely on good weather to grow crops and sustain livestock, so when the Bureau of Meteorology issues an El Niño warning, it’s a bitter pill to swallow given that so many farmers and rural communities across Australia are still reeling from recent floods. Now, researchers at the UniSA are hoping to connect with farmers who have been affected by the 2022-23 floods to better understand their first-hand experiences and how they would like to be supported to regain optimal wellbeing.

With three captivating seasons firmly under its belt, full of candid stories from farmers and rural locals across the Wimmera and Southern Mallee, a new season of podcast series ‘Farmer Wants a Healthy Life’ is here.

The Bureau of Meteorology has declared that an El Nino is underway for most of regional and rural Australia, which will lead to a warmer and drier Spring and Summer, increasing the risk of extreme temperature shifts. This will test all of us, as drought, bushfires, and sustained hot weather will impact many communities. Importantly this will also be a leadership moment of truth for parents, employers, and community groups.

Mark McHenry is a physicist, an innovator and an explorer of clean energy solutions. He’s worked on research projects in America, the Philippines and Mozambique and is an Associate Professor at Murdoch Uni’s Harry Butler Institute ... Mark is currently putting his physics knowledge into numerous food and energy projects and one of his studies involves truffles.

After the heritage debacle Tony Buti is on notice by his backbench. After this year's ATAR results come out he will be on notice by the State's parents. By the next election, if he does not leave his mark on education, he will be like those kids who did not take the hard route through school, wondering what his next job will be.

A new program designed to tackle regional skills shortages in the housing and planning sectors is being established through a State and Local government partnership ... the Grow Your Own program is a joint initiative between the Malinauskas Government and Local Government Association – focused on training local talent and providing pathways to grow regional councils’ planning workforce.

Narrandera Public School held some spectacular events to celebrate their 150-year anniversary last week. The events attracted over 1000 people across the two days with a concert held on the Thursday followed by an open evening on Friday and finishing off with a fireworks display at the Marie Bashir Park that night.

Applications are now open for 10 new Regional University Study Hubs to be established around Australia, giving more students from the bush access to tertiary education ... In response to the Universities Accord Interim Report, the Government will establish up to 20 additional Regional University Study Hubs, and up to 14 new Suburban University Study Hubs.

The search for the missing Yamba Public School time capsule is over after organisers received devastating news last week that pinpointed the metal cylinder’s location and shattered the dreams of excited locals eager to view its contents. To mark Yamba Public School’s YPS 100th anniversary in 1983, a time capsule was buried on the old school site to be opened in the year 2000...

Frogs are in trouble. While many of the world's animal species are now at risk from habitat loss, climate change and other human pressures, it is frogs that are particularly at risk ... "Farm dams, often overlooked in the conservation context, have emerged as potential lifelines for numerous species during dry spells, including frogs": Dr Martino Malerba.

Brace yourselves for the triumphant return of the Indigenous Australian Datathon (IAD) as it gears up for its third consecutive year in Cairns, from the 3rd to the 5th of November 2023. Spearheaded by KJR in collaboration with James Cook University (JCU), tech pioneers and communities, IAD is set to create waves of innovation uniting Traditional Owners, technologists, data professionals, start-ups, and students in an extraordinary quest to revolutionise the future of Australian communities.

Construction of the new Legana Primary School is well underway, with steel and timber framing for the general learning area buildings largely completed and preparation of the slab for the administration building now in progress ... “The new school is expected to open its doors in 2025 to students from the Legana and Grindelwald areas": Minister for Education, Children and Youth, Roger Jaensch.

Barkly Region Sport Education has a very famous mascot, Bernie, who travels the region with Pam Dillon, the Barkly Region Sport Education Coordinator. Students in all the Barkly schools know Bernie and are keen to have their photo taken with him when he visits their school.

The Cook Government announced the appointment of 10 Aboriginal people to the State's first system-level Aboriginal Advisory Body to advise on the Department's progress towards reconciliation and creating a culturally responsive education system. The Aboriginal Advisory Body will provide independent advice to the Minister for Education and Director General…

Sally Higgins (daughter of Sue and Phil Higgins) has been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship for 2024, supported by Agrifutures ... From now until December 2024, Sally will travel across the world, exploring the most effective government, industry and farm business models for prioritizing land uses that meet multiple objectives.

Agriculture Victoria’s Horsham SmartFarm recently provided local students hands-on experience of climate action research, with a focus on preserving important grains and plants for the future. The visit was by a group of students who are currently studying Agricultural and Horticultural Science at Goroke P-12 College.

Storytelling will always provide a window to the culture of any team or community. Storytelling is the most powerful weapon any leader has to engage, inspire and influence others ... Storytelling reveals how a leader walked their talk. Whilst storytelling is the mechanism to pass on history and wisdom, it is also the mechanism for a leader to build trust, belief, and credibility. No story, no impact!