Community sector strengthening
Showcasing the community sector
VCOSS has developed the 'Showcasing the community sector project' to identify and promote good business practices in the community sector. The project will enable organisations to share information and learn from each other through annual business forums, achievement awards, and other events.
The project also aims to ‘showcase’ the community sector as a career opportunity. We aim to demonstrate how and why the community sector is a stimulating, rewarding and enjoyable place to work. In this way, the project takes a long-term view by seeking to attract a new generation of workers into the community sector.
The project commenced in April 2007 and is funded for three years by the Department of Human Services through the Community Support Investment Fund.
Can you spare a couple of hours to promote community sector careers to thousands of Victorians?
VCOSS is looking for community sector representatives to assist at the National Careers and Employment Expo to be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday 27 (9am – 4pm) and Saturday 28 March (10am – 4pm).
Your role will be quite simple, to spend a couple of hours talking to interested participants about working in the community sector! Of course it is always good to have an incentive to work on the weekend, so what’s in it for your organisation?
- The chance to check out the suitability of using careers expos as a marketing tool without having to fork out cash to do so
- A link to your organisation via the community careers website. This website will be the central source of information for the duration of the exhibition and will be included on all promotional material.
- The opportunity to promote the work of your organisation through the conversations you have with attendees*.
Please note:* While you are welcome to hand out business cards / small flyers promoting your organisation or refer people to information located on your website the size of the space and the look and feel of the exhibition will limit the information that can be on display.
To register your interest to help out at the National Careers and Employment Expo please email Nicole Wiseman nicole.wiseman@vcoss.org.au or contact 9654 5050.
Care to Make a Difference
In 2007 VCOSS developed the Community Careers website, providing people looking for / considering a career in the community sector with a central site where they can read about the experiences of community workers and their clients, check out career pathways, study options and current job opportunities.
The website has recently been updated to include additional information job seekers are looking for including opportunities to gain valuable work experience through volunteering.
The website will feature in a careers publication in mid February and be promoted heavily at the Community Careers stand at the National Careers and Employment Expo to be held in Melbourne from March 27 – 29.
CSO Regional Feature
To promote the large number of CSOs that operate in regional Victoria VCOSS is developing a map that features a number of towns throughout Victoria with links to the websites of community organisations based in those locations.
If your organisation:
- has a website (preferably one that advertises current job vacancies)
- has workers based outside of the Melbourne metropolitan area,
- would like to be included in the regional feature
please email your website address and list of cities / towns where you operate to Nicole Wiseman nicole.wiseman@vcoss.org.au
While we will be updating the Community Careers site on an ongoing basis we would like to upload as many organisations as possible by FRIDAY 13 FEBRUARYCommunity Service Worker Pin-Ups: Click Here
Community Sector Workforce Strategy Current and Recent Projects
For further information about the project contact the Policy Officer:
Nicole Wiseman
nicole.wiseman@vcoss.org.au