By ROMAN KULKEWYCZ
FEDERATION Training is hosting 18 students from Papua New Guinea who are studying for a diploma of leadership and management as part of the Australia Awards Fellowship, an Australian Government funded program aiming at building capacity in developing countries.
The students come from different parts of PNG and are being hosted at Federation Training’s Warragul campus for seven weeks.
The participants are public servants from the health and education industry, with various mid-management positions in hospitals and training colleges.
The participants visited Hillview Bunyip Aged Care on 22 October as part of their studies where they had an extensive tour of the facilities.
Hillview CEO Frank Hoff and director of nursing Cassie Pronk gave presentations on leadership and management skills required in the health industry, which was followed by afternoon tea.
The participants really enjoyed their visit as it gave them an insight into the Australian aged care system. There is no aged care system in PNG – elderly family members are housed and looked after by the extended family.
“I really love the units. It is nice that the nurses are there to provide the appropriate care,” one of the participants Cathereen Songonai said.
“The care is very different in PNG, it is basic but with a lot of respect and dignity. We keep the family unit together.”
The students gain a tremendous amount of knowledge and networking skills with these industry visits.
