Students from Cohuna Secondary College have successfully completed their nine-week project, which aimed to address the recruitment of healthcare workers and the retention of young people in Cohuna.
The project, conducted in partnership with the Campaspe Cohuna LLEN and the Cohuna District Hospital, provided students with hands-on work experience while fulfilling the requirements of their vocational major studies.
The project culminated in a successful launch event on Tuesday, September 10, held at the North District Community Health Centre, which drew community support.
Forty-five attendees, including council staff, school leadership, CCLLEN and community members from Cohuna and Kerang, participated in the event to celebrate the students’ achievements.
The project had several vital components, including workplace shadowing, signage updates, career pathway brochures, careers sessions and a student survey.
Cohuna Secondary College assistant principal Sharon Payne highlighted how great it was to see the vocational students engage with the project and have positive outcomes.
“It was fantastic to see our students’ engagement and confidence grow each week,” she said.
“They took pride in their work as they knew that it was going out into the community and would potentially be used to help the hospital recruit new staff.
“The students gained invaluable employability skills as they completed work experience in different parts of the hospital.
“They very quickly learnt that there are many employment opportunities within the health sector, including at our local hospital — some of which they had not considered before.”
Director of Clinical Services at Cohuna District Hospital Wendy Lunghusen spoke about how great it was to host the students for their project.
“It has been an honour for Cohuna District Hospital to partner with our local school, to showcase the broad range of healthcare career opportunities that are available in our local community, and to have the youth perspective on solutions for healthcare industry challenges,” she said
“Our aged care residents enjoyed the time that the CSC students spent with them, and our staff valued the opportunity to speak with them about healthcare careers.”