Uni Hub Spencer Gulf celebrated the graduation of 17 students across the fields of nursing, teaching, social work, accounting and psychological science at its graduation and sponsors dinner last week.
The event provides the opportunity to recognise the years of hard work of students who completed their studies at the end of 2023 and to thank the organisations in the region who have supported the Uni Hub during the past 12 months.
Uni Hub Spencer Gulf CEO Anita Kuss said every one of the graduates had gained employment in their new profession, right here in the region.
“We now have 17 new professionals from Port Pirie, Port Augusta and the Copper Coast who already call this region home; and whose new skills and knowledge not only opens up career opportunities as graduates, but also helps to build local capacity and capability of the community,” she said.
“The National Skills Commission has identified that nine out of ten new jobs in coming years will require post-school training and fifty percent will need a university qualification.
“Regional Australia Institute reports that job vacancies in regions are growing at three time the rate of metropolitan areas.
“This means the workforce challenge for our communities is only going to increase – in every single sector.
“As competition for skilled workers intensifies right across the nation, more and more employers are investing in ‘growing their own’ local workforce.
“We’re really proud to be a local solution to a national workforce issue and improving access to a university education for school leavers, as well as upskilling or reskilling existing workers in our region.”
Ms Kuss said the continued growth in student numbers and courses on offer at the Uni Hub proved that there was a strong demand for locally accessible and locally supported university study.
“The Uni Hub opened its doors in 2019 with one study centre and 14 students. Five years later, we’re now supporting over 300 students with their university studies across five locations – Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Copper Coast, Roxby Downs and Port Lincoln,” she said.
“The majority of students are enrolled with our partner universities studying qualifications in areas of local workforce demand. And the majority of students tell us they would not otherwise have considered university as an option, had it not been for the local support provided by the Uni Hub.
“We are also now working with more than 40 secondary schools across the Mid North, Far North, Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas to raise aspiration to higher education and to showcase the huge range professional and technical careers available right here in our own backyard, and – through the Uni Hub – the local study pathways into those careers.”
Our 2023 Graduates:
CQUniversity bachelor graduates included Tess Kitschke, Robyn Litchfield, Rebecca Jenner, Chelsea White, Ashley Durdin and Taylor Trembath (Bachelor of Nursing), Tiffany Hood (Bachelor of Psychological Science), Amy Burgess, Will Shepherd and Renee Nikoloudi (Bachelor of Education), Emma Jean Turner and Sonya Murphy (Bachelor of Social Work).
The Uni Hub’s first Flinders University graduate, Sam DeGioia, completed a Bachelor of Accounting.
CQUniversity Graduate Certificate of Clinical Nursing graduates were also recognised at the event, including Rebecca Damiani, Brooklyn Binns, Carly Munyard and Belinda Taylor.
Graduates were presented with their certificates by Professor Rob Brown (CQU Director of the Regional University Centres), Associate Professor Angelina Ambrosetti (CQU School of Education and the Arts) and Dr Lisa Wirhana (CQU Head of College Nursing and Midwifery).
