In October, Grow Our Own (GOO) was pleased to partner with Griffith Base Hospital to deliver this year’s Year 9 GOO Industry Tour, providing local students with a valuable opportunity to explore careers in the health sector.
Hosted by the executive team at Griffith Base Hospital, the tour gave students an in-depth look at the wide range of career opportunities available within a regional hospital setting. Students heard from a panel of health professionals who shared their career journeys, insights into their roles, and the pathways that led them into the industry.
A special thank you to Joanne Garlick, Fiona McKern, Ellen McMaster and Beck Kelly for facilitating such a welcoming and informative experience. Their passion and expertise provided students with a firsthand understanding of the diversity of careers available in healthcare and the many pathways into these professions.
GOO also extends its thanks to member organisations Three Rivers Department of Health, Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Country Universities Centre, who attended on the day to provide information on study options, training pathways and entry points into the health careers highlighted throughout the tour.
Experiences such as these play an important role in helping young people explore future career opportunities, connect with industry professionals and gain a better understanding of the pathways available to them within the health sector.
Griffith Employment & Careers Expo
GOO attended this year's Griffith Employment & Careers Expo as both an exhibitor and panel speaker. The event welcomed more than 40 exhibitors and over 370 students and job seekers, bringing together local businesses, organisations and education providers under one roof at Griffith Sports Stadium.
The expo provided an excellent opportunity for GOO to connect directly with young people and the broader community to discuss local career pathways and employment opportunities. On the day, GOO collected more than 150 student surveys, which will be added to the valuable GOO Expo Survey data gathered in previous years. This feedback will continue to inform workforce development initiatives and career pathway planning across the region.
RIEP/GOO Trades Information Night
This year, GOO partnered with Regional Industry Education Partnerships (RIEP) to deliver Griffith's first Trades Information Night, building on a successful model that has been running in Wagga Wagga and Albury for many years.
Designed as an out-of-school-hours event for students and parents, the evening aimed to provide practical information about trade career pathways, apprenticeships and traineeships. The event was supported by Grow Our Own manufacturing partners Irribiz and Flavourtech, with both organisations represented by HR Managers and Apprentices/Trainees who participated in a panel discussion and answered questions from attendees.
During the night parents and students had the opportunity to have meaningful conversations directly with industry representatives, resulting in valuable insights into local opportunities, recruitment processes and support available for young people pursuing careers in trades.
Feedback from participating industry representatives highlighted the benefits of the smaller format, describing it as a highly effective event that enabled genuine one-on-one engagement. Grow Our Own will be discussing opportunities with the committee to deliver more events of this style in the future and explore additional promotional approaches, such as targeted social media advertising, to increase awareness and attendance.
Upcoming GOO Stakeholder Event
A reminder for all GOO stakeholder that our upcoming GOO Stakeholder event is taking place on 25th November in Griffith. The GOO Stakeholder meetings are designed to host education providers, industry and those that work in-between; within one event.
These events are intended to ensure all stakeholders within the workforce development, training, and education space in our (Western) Riverina region remain connected and aware of the important work being done at grass roots level of our workforce.
Grow Our Own is proud to host this ongoing event in the effort to ensure stakeholders remain connected and aware of support available to them.
At each event, a short guest speaker session is hosted of key organisations that work in this space, followed by a casual networking lunch to continue these important conversations and build new relationships.
