Jabiru Campus Report 

 
 
Off to work at Oenpelli

A long wet-season may have made road access to many Top End communities impossible, but staff at CDU’s Jabiru Centre have taken to the air to ensure training continues to be delivered.

Staff are currently flying in weekly to Oenpelli (Gunbulunya), Mamaderrewe and Manmoyi to deliver general education and computing courses to people in these isolated communities.

Lecturers Susan Smiley and Donna Iddon recently had to swap a pair of wings for a rotor blade and travel out by helicopter, while their usual light plane was being repaired.

The Centre is about to embark on a comprehensive Flexible Response Funding project to deliver training in tractor operations, vehicle licensing and  units of competence in business and childrens' services at Oenpelli.

The Certificate I in Tourism (Australian Indigenous culture) is also being delivered as a VET in Schools program at the community school.

Local industry links for CDU in Jabiru are strong. CDU has a Memorandum of Understanding to deliver training with Energy Resources of Australia (metaliferous mining training for Ranger Mine employees), the Holiday Inn Group of Hotels (tourism and hospitality training for employees at the Crocodile Holiday Inn) and Parks Australia North (general education and conservation and land management training for staff within Kakadu National Park).

The Centre Leader Geoff White recently presented a paper to the NT Mining Association about CDU’s training of metaliferous mining workers in Kakadu.

The University is currently offering general education, computing, business, childrens’ services, literacy and numeracy, tourism and hospitality, and drink driving education from the Jabiru centre.

There are 15 School-Based New Apprentices at the Jabiru Area School completing studies at CDU in the following vocations: conservation and land management, transport and distribution, information technology, automotive, tourism, construction, childrens’ services and hairdressing.

Conservation and land management and tourism are also being delivered through VETiS at Jabiru Area School.

The Director of Remote Co-ordination Paul Fitzsimons recently visited the campus to meet staff and explain his new role.

The CDU Jabiru Centre is situated in the Training Centre owned by the Department of Employment, Education and Training. The University continues to have a good local relationship with the Department.

Contact: Geoff White, Centre Leader.