When women are given equal opportunities to earn, learn and lead – entire communities thrive.
Empowering women on their life-long learning journey as adults is our daily commitment at Macquarie Community College. It is not just about enabling women of all ages in our communities to do a class or get a piece of paper. It is more than that – our vision is for stronger communities through the power of learning and connection.
Above all we create an environment where it is never too late to start – a place to make friends, develop new skills, get job ready or accelerate from study into, or upwards, in the workplace.
Every year we enable thousands of women from a diverse range of backgrounds to participate in their choice of quality, inclusive training and education. For more than 70 years we have been a trusted place-based organisation that meets the ever-changing needs of individuals, organisations and communities.
Equitable access is made possible through our long-term engagement as a trusted and high performing provider of NSW and Commonwealth government subsidised and fee-free training. This is a great investment in accelerating progress for women with lived experience to obtain nationally recognised qualifications for employment in critical skills shortage areas like aged and disability care and early childhood and education. A win-win for our students, their employers and the clients they serve through their work in these industries.
Simone was our Community Education student of the year finalist in 2023. Simone’s story is one of resilience, bravery and the power of education to break the chains of adversity in her domestic life.
Having changed her own situation, Simone is now at a point where she can make a difference in the lives of others in the aged care sector.
Read more about Simones inspiring journey here.
From Mount Druitt and Blacktown in greater western Sydney to Chatswood, Ryde and Epping we offer a huge range of courses. What makes this special is that no matter which campus or which mode of study (Face-to-face, by Zoom, self-paced online or a mix), there will be equality of access, a chance to follow your interests in short courses, attain foundational skills in English or digital literacy, and/or progressing on your employment pathway by completing Certificate and Diploma level qualification programs.
We take the time to ensure our programs are designed to build capability and capacity to create better futures for our students, their families and their communities, recognising that many of our students face barriers to participation such as inadequate English language and employability skills for the Australian workplace, disability, indigeneity, long term unemployment and caring responsibilities. Regardless of their starting point as they climb the ladder of learning our passionate and professional educators are totally focussed on positive progress and long-term outcomes for our students.
We also work closely with other like-minded organisations to collaborate and combine each organisation’s strengths to support women to fulfill their dreams. Macquarie Community College is a proud partner of Sydney Greater West (SGW) Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and Migrant Employment Working Group and the 2770 Working Group
One of the incredible success stories, a testament to this amazing collaboration, is that of Asraa.
Asraa was a medical doctor in Romania before coming to Australia and struggling for years to find employment. She tried applying directly through Seek, Indeed, Jora and LinkedIn without any success.
Asraa attended the SGW CALD and Migrant Working Groups 2023 Blacktown Employment Accelerator event in October 2023 and believes “a miracle happened to me that day“.
Read more about the local jobs accelerator events here.
International Women’s Day reminds us each year that the majority of our students, staff and directors are women. We learn, work, and connect with women as a strong point. Of course, we make that connection and commitment to all of our male students as well.
We aim to practice our belief in diversity and inclusion every day so that the College is an equitable place to learn and connect with others. We welcome all. We live our commitment to make our students feel welcome, supported and respected no matter where they are starting from or where they are heading on their learning pathway.