Photo: David Fuller, Hon Dr Geoff Lee MP (NSW Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education), Theresa Collignon (CEO Macquarie Community College)
College CEO Theresa Collignon was proud to be part of the Parliament House launch of the latest Community Colleges Australia Report on Wednesday 25 September.
The report shows how NSW community education providers significantly over-perform on almost all tracked measures in reaching vulnerable and disadvantaged students.
The NSW Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, the Hon Dr Geoff Lee MP, launched the Community Colleges Australia (CCA) report, on government-funded NSW students, at NSW Parliament House in the presence of 70 NSW MLCs and MLAs, CCA members and other guests. “Community colleges are and will continue to be an important part of post-secondary school education and occupy an essential place for people who cannot access the traditional RTO, TAFE or higher education system. The grassroots contact with local communities is so important in understanding what communities need, and being able to cater for individual learners with their own needs and expectations," Minister Lee said.
Theresa, a board member of CCA had the opportunity to address the gathering, reinforcing Macquarie Community College’s commitment to working with adults in Greater Western Sydney that have barriers to gaining employment or engaging in further learning.
The College offers an extensive suite of foundation skills programs, subsidised through the NSW Government’s Smart and Skilled and Adult Community Education funding. Macquarie Community College is at the forefront of engaging motivated learners, especially migrants with English as a second language, to develop their written and spoken English, increase their digital literacy and assisting them improve their job seeker skills and confidence.