CareSouth trainee wins significant award

Congratulations to CareSouth Deniliquin trainee Alyssa Townsend
for winning the school-based Trainee of the Year in the 2022 NSW Training
Awards in Griffith last night.

“The Deniliquin team are so proud of Alyssa for winning the
trainee award for the Riverina at the regional conference,” said manager
Georgia Henderson.

“Alyssa joined CareSouth as a trainee in March last year and has
exceeded expectations in her role. She is reliable, organised and she comes to
work each day with a happy attitude, ready to tackle whatever tasks are
required.”

CareSouth’s Deniliquin staff designed the traineeship program to
encourage young people in rural communities to pursue a career in the Community
Services sector – a growing field in Western NSW.

Alyssa applied for the
traineeship after hearing the CareSouth team’s presentation at Deniliquin High School.
Alyssa’s parents had previously been foster carers and she had seen first-hand
the positive impact this support had on young people’s lives.

Alyssa has to complete 100
work placement days over the duration of the traineeship which she will finish
later this year. Alyssa works one day a week during the school term and up to
five days during school holidays. She is also studying a Certificate III in
Individual Support on top of her HSC.

“My teachers warned me that the traineeship, along with studying
for the HSC, would be a huge workload but I have managed to balance schoolwork
and paid work,” said Alyssa.

“When I finish high school, I plan to study at Sydney University to become a paediatric psychiatrist. The knowledge and experience that I’ve gained by completing this traineeship will be a step in the right direction towards my future career goals.”

Alyssa’s role as a CareSouth trainee includes carer recruitment and administration tasks and she now has a better understanding of the broad array of skills required to work in the child protection sector.

“Alyssa is always asking to do more and be part of any new experiences or opportunities that are offered to her,” said Georgia. “Most importantly she can connect with people of all ages and has shown maturity beyond her years.

“We have no doubt that Alyssa will achieve anything that she puts her mind to, as she has the dedication and drive to succeed. Alyssa has been a huge asset to our team and we wish her the best of luck in the next stage of the NSW Training Awards.”

Alyssa will now head to the State Conference and is in the running to become the NSW Trainee of the Year.

To learn more about CareSouth’s traineeship program in Deniliquin, contact us today on 1300 554 260 or email info@caresouth.org.au.