Participants Complete Diploma of Leadership and Management in Kununurra

28 February 2019

In May 2018, under the sponsorship of John Scougall (GM Programs) and Barry King (Manager Leadership and Governance), Wunan Foundation identified a selection of employees with leadership potential to undertake a Diploma of Leadership and Management course.

The program was designed to develop core leadership skills and management capability within the team, in order to help support the growth of Wunan Foundation and the increasing complexity of the organisation as more programs are commenced.

Wunan’s General Manager of Services, John Scougall said, “Feedback from participants about the quality of the course has been very positive.”

“Wunan believes that courses such as this are essential to bring through the next generation of Team Leaders and Managers equipped to make a difference.”

Vocational Training Services, a respected regionally-focused Registered Training Organisation, was engaged to design and deliver the program to staff over a 12 to 15 month period.  Areas of focus in the course design included developing operational and team performance plans, building effective workplace and key stakeholder relationships through communicating effectively and emotionally intelligent behaviour, facilitating continuous improvement within the organisation and managing people and teams.

Matt Dowd, Managing Director of Vocational Training Services explained, “Wunan is a terrific organisation and has always invested in its people. My brief was to help build the leadership and management capability of participants so that they can confidently take on more responsibility in the organisation over time.”

The program was delivered face-to-face in Kununurra in blocks of three days and following successful completion participants are award a Diploma of Leadership and Management qualification.  The face-to-face delivery mode was seen as a critical success factor in ensuring that participants were able to learn the content, ask questions of the lecturing staff, share ideas and thoughts with other Wunan staff and ultimately translate the learning back into their role in Wunan.

“This Diploma has been useful for me, it’s built on my life experiences and Army training, and also reinforces the things I have been doing for the last 30 years, and have a qualification to show that,” said East Kimberley Job Pathways Community Projects Co-ordinator Mark Allum.

As the 2018/19 program draws to a close, participants are increasingly applying their new knowledge and skills back into the workplace, which is showing some real benefits for Wunan, our clients and our community partners.

Jobs and Skills Centre Regional Team Leader and Senior Career Practitioner Tarn Dallavanzi has been completing the Diploma said, “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me, and I appreciate the ease of undertaking the learning and assessment sessions in blocks here in town, and Wunan benefits by increasing the capacity of team members.”

Wunan is currently considering a 2019/20 program and will be seeking expressions of interest from eligible Wunan staff and community partners.  We are convinced the outcomes from this program will develop further leadership and management capability in the East Kimberley and beyond as Wunan and our community partners pursue our strategic objectives in the community.

Topic: Education, Employment, Leadership, Wunan