SHARING AMBITIONS
05 Dec 2016
AUSTSWIM works closely with metropolitan and regional aquatic facilities to improve access to a skilled workforce of accredited teachers of swimming and water safety and aqua instructors.
Aquatic facilities must be creative and agile in order to succeed in a business environment that caters to any increasingly diverse community. AUSTSWIM works closely with metropolitan, regional and remote aquatic facilities to improve access to a skilled workforce of accredited teachers of swimming and water safety and aqua instructors.
CEO, Jennifer Schembri-Portelli, says “We liaise with managers of aquatic facilities throughout Australasia to strengthen a skilled workforce and create a ripple effect towards safer participation in, on and around water. Our success stories are many and varied”.
OPERATION OUTREACH
Operation Outreach aimed to overcome barriers to success by delivering affordable and cultural AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety (TSW) courses in regional and remote areas, which in turn delivered highly trained and accredited AUSTSWIM Teachers to communities most in need. Courses were delivered in diverse locations including Thursday Island (Qld), Marble Bar (WA) and Katherine (NT).
This tailored training project incorporated the “full package” for a week of aquatic education. Students participated in the course and were then mentored by Licensed AUSTSWIM Teachers while experiencing genuine industry training providing local school children with quality swimming and water safety lessons.
STUDENTS TAKE THE PLUNGE
Year 11 students, from the Blacktown area in NSW, kickstarted their careers by completing the AUSTSWIM TSW course where they were introduced to the aquatics industry and taught essential competencies.
Mayor of Blacktown Council, Stephen Bali, commented, “It is through opportunities such as this that we can offer students the necessary knowledge and skills around the aquatics industry, as well as opening up a number of job prospects in the future”.
MAKING WAVES IN CULTURALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITIES
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in regional Victoria and South Australia attending AUSTSWIM TSW courses eagerly engaged with the message, “It is important to encourage immigrants and refugees to understand the value of swimming as a skill for life and assist in cultural education [in Australia]”.
AUSTSWIM IS QUALITY ENDORSED WITH INTERNATIONAL JOINT AUTHORITY ON STANDARDS
Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) accreditation. The ISO/IEC 17024 standard is the globally accepted benchmark for organisations operating certification of persons gaining a license in a technical area.
Surprisingly, until now, there were no standards applying to the accreditation of Teachers of Swimming and Water Safety. Best practice guidelines exist but none have the quality and assurance of an International Standard. ISO ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality. AUSTSWIM was measured independently to demonstrate characteristic functions as the certification body using objective criteria to measure competence.
WETS Aqua Instructor training is also a feature in AUSTSWIM’s training suite, offering additional career pathway options for aquatic and fitness professionals.
AUSTSWIM welcomes further enquiries from facilities on how to enhance career opportunities for their employees. For more information visit www.austswim.com.au
