Scholarship winner to help CDU graduates work in remote NT 

 
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CDU Team Leader in Careers and Employment, Judith Austin, who has just won an Industry Placement Scholarship for Career Advisers, awarded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

A careers specialist from Charles Darwin University has won a $10,000 industry placement scholarship to develop a resource to assist CDU graduates prepare for working in remote locations in the NT.

Team Leader in Careers and Employment, Judith Austin, has been successful in her application for an Industry Placement Scholarship for Career Advisers, awarded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

As part of the scholarship, Ms Austin will undertake industry placements in the NT Department of Education and the NT Department of Health and Families in 2010.

During this time she will gather information on the issues faced by CDU graduates who work in remote locations within the NT. 

The information will form the basis of a booklet to better inform future graduates about working in remote locations.

“Many people in the Northern Territory have significant knowledge and insight into the challenges and rewards of working in remote locations,” Ms Austin said. 

“However, there does not appear to be a central repository of that knowledge that is accessible by undergraduates to inform their career plans.

“Hopefully, students will be able access a valuable resource to assist with the development of their career management strategies in relation to this specific career option.”

With 14 years’ experience in providing career counselling and career education programs to students in the tertiary education sector, Ms Austin said she was delighted to have won one of the coveted DEEWR scholarships.

“The added preparation (from the proposed booklet) will enable CDU graduates to demonstrate distinctive knowledge and a thorough understanding of the unique demands of working within the Territory. This resource will complement existing CDU programs that focus on life and work in the Northern Territory,” she said.