Employers snap up retail skills students 

 
 
CDU staff with graduates from the Indigenous Pre-Employment Program at the graduation dinner at Crowne Plaza

Fourteen Charles Darwin University certificate students were the focus of celebrations following the completion of a pre-employment program in Alice Springs last week.

For most of them, it was a double celebration: 11 have been offered employment in retail positions around the town with Coles, Woolworths and Dick Smith.

CDU Retail Lecturer Judy Bell said students worked on units from Certificate I and Certificate II in Retail, with several students successfully completing all requirements of the Certificate I in Retail Services.

“We have equipped them with a set of good basic skills designed to enhance their employment prospects in an area [retail] that needs more competent people,” she said.

“The program also demonstrated the impact and value of strong partnerships in a community such as Alice Springs.”

The Indigenous Pre-Employment Program, an initiative of the Mining, Energy and Engineering Academy, and Globally Makes a Difference, focuses on building the confidence, resilience, skills, abilities and employability of each participant.