Page 3510 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 12 September 2017
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The 2017-18 ACT budget includes the provision of $1 million over four years from 2017-18 to assist mature age workers to upskill and re-skill, as well as to assist in the development of initiatives to boost the number of women working in trades. Through this work, the ACT government will aim to create more options for Canberrans in the later stages of life to gain the skills they need to enhance their job prospects or to seek a new career. This year the government has also put measures in place to lift restrictions on the number of funded courses a person can complete over their lifetime. This will allow mature age workers who already have a qualification greater access to traineeships and apprenticeships to upskill or to train for a new career.
Many ACT government agencies and services benefit greatly due to the engagement of seniors in volunteer roles. Libraries ACT recruits and engages seniors in volunteer roles including facilitating English conversation classes, making deliveries for the Home Library Service, literacy tutoring for adults and preparing discarded library items for sale. The success of events like Floriade and the National Multicultural Festival relies on volunteers, many of whom are older Canberrans.
The government also has open its seniors and veterans participation grants program. One of the streams of funding for this is for groups looking to encourage greater social participation for our senior Canberrans. Some of the most innovative ideas come from those who are in the community, and I look forward to seeing numerous exciting and creative ways to promote social connectedness in our seniors. Through all of these initiatives, we are helping to encourage all of our seniors to get out and remain connected to the city, through employment or volunteering.
Communication, information and social participation are vital to ensuring our seniors are an integral part of society in Canberra. Access to timely, practical information is vital for seniors to stay connected and to be informed about options and supports to stay active and independent.
The ACT seniors directory, which is funded by the government, provides readily accessible online information on topics including seniors support services and organisations; employment; lifelong learning; volunteering; housing; transport; and recreation. A hardcopy version is also created every two years, to assist those without access to the internet.
The ACT Veterans and Seniors Newsletter provides appropriate news and events information to veterans and seniors living in the ACT. The newsletter is distributed via email, and through the post to those who are unable to access the newsletter online.
Libraries ACT provides the community with access to ACT government information through promotional material about government services and programs, the ACTÂ budget and consultation documents, as well as through hosting government consultation sessions and programs like ACT smart heating, property crime prevention and estate planning.
This year, the government has also funded the Royal Society for the Blind to provide training to those in the city who are vision impaired and over 55 in how to modify and
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