We are delighted to announce that Dianne Stewart, a qualified teacher and six-year resident of Stawell, has joined our team as the Structured Workplace Learning Coordinator for the Pyrenees-Grampians Vocational Education and Training Cluster.
Dianne Stewart, a qualified teacher and six-year resident of Stawell, has joined the Central Grampians Local Learning and Employment Network (CGLLEN) team as the Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) Coordinator for the Pyrenees-Grampians Vocational Education and Training (VET) Cluster.
Employed by the CGLLEN, Dianne will be based in Ararat Community College and spend her time between the four Central Grampians secondary schools as well as out in the community creating and maintaining links with employers who provide work placements for VET students in the cluster.
Dianne is committed and enthusiastic about the role of VET in schools, especially the value of quality work placements.
Dianne, whose teaching areas are English and History, has a BA in Humanities and a Grad. Dip. of Education. Born in Castlemaine and educated in Bendigo she worked for several years in the sales and administration field before teaching in the Bendigo area. A move to Alice Springs, NT, was cut short when Dianne moved to Stawell, the hometown of her partner Hugh Williams, to start a family. Dianne is now a mother of two, Connor, 6 and Alanis, 4. Dianne has spent the last five years doing casual replacement teaching at Stawell and Marian colleges and is looking forward to continuing her association with both schools, as well as making new connections at Ararat Community and Lake Bolac colleges.
‘We are looking forward to Dianne being part of the Local Community Partnerships team,’ says Belinda Healy, Manager of the Local Community Partnerships (LCP) initiatives. ‘Dianne is committed and enthusiastic about the role of VET in schools, especially the value of quality work placements and she will be an asset to the program.’
‘Not everyone learns or achieves career advancement in the same way.’ says Dianne, who, although university educated herself, is proud to boast family associations with industry and trades. Dianne’s father was a diesel mechanic and her mother worked in the clothing industry as a machinist and dispatcher. Dianne is the only university graduate in her family and is the youngest of five children, her siblings having achieved career success through apprenticeships, traineeships, TAFE and on the job training. ‘My eldest brother started as an apprentice electrician and has risen to a senior maintenance position within a national food company. Another brother and sister hold executive positions in finance, payroll and accounts management and my other sister, qualified in childcare, now takes the administrative role as a partner in her husband’s sign writing business.’
Dianne is looking forward to meeting new people and rising to the challenge of continuing the good work of the previous SWL coordinator. Look out for her at your school or workplace.