Hi Leanne here.

When I had my children I took some time off work (I used to work in the State Government on climate change policy). And when I took a break I started thinking about other things I’d like to do more … like hang out with super nice people in the neighbourhood each day!

I imagine that lots of people are in a similar place now … they’ve scaled up or down their work for one reason or another, are reconsidering their options due to the opportunities and challenges of working from home, and are thinking about the fact that this is it, their one life.

It seems a pandemic does have a tendency to help one reassess (if one has any headspace left after the mundanity of everyday worrying).

Also… did you know I have an identical twin sister? Who had a bit more perseverance for bureaucracy than me? She’s been leading the roll-out of a fabulous new program by the Victorian Government. Designed specifically for those who are thinking about a mid-career career change, and with an interest in digital jobs.

The appropriately named Digital Jobs program was officially launched a week or so ago and offers (in a nutshell) a 12 week accredited and industry recognised free training course followed by a 12 week paid traineeship.

What’s interesting about this (Elise and I have been on multiple walks a week and I have lived all her excitement with the program vicariously) is the scope of the opportunities. The program is for people who think they’d love to get into digital marketing AND people who want to code AND people who like to set up systems AND people with a whole lot of other interests and skills that are underpinned by digital literacy.

AND … you don’t have to have done anything like it before. You just have to have been in the workforce for 10 years.

AND the traineeships are in all sorts of businesses, from small businesses like ours that increasingly realise that they need a strong digital presence, to big banks, to companies building increasingly sophisticated online shops, government etc. etc.

It really is quite a unique opportunity.

If you are interested, as I understand it you put your name down, and then you do an aptitude test (confirming that you have the mindset needed for these types of jobs - which I think will give you peace of mind that you are capable of embarking on this type of career change). Then you get to choose the course you want to do … followed by a traineeship … hopefully leading to a pathway to a new career!

Well that’s my take on it (you might want to read the fine print because I am often slightly distracted in our walking conversations by my dog 🐶 pulling on the lead etc.)

So here’s the official spiel (and links) if you are interested.

---

Do you have family or friends looking for a career change or looking to get back into the workforce?

Let them know about Digital Jobs - a new program to help 5,000 mid-career Victorians (from any industry) move into a digital career.

Applications for Round 2 of Digital Jobs (which starts 4 October) close this Sunday 22 August. Apply now for this round or future rounds.

Each round of Digital Jobs runs for six-months - offering participants a free 12 week course with a world leading training provider followed by a paid 12 week work placement with a Victorian business.

Some of Victoria’s leading businesses are offering placements including ANZ Bank, CarSales, MYOB, Swiss Wellness, Siemens, Infosys, AWS, NCS, Salesforce and many more.

Learn more and apply now at vic.gov.au/digitaljobs.

Thanks to everyone who has taken a block home to decorate. Thanks to those who have dropped them back already.

They are looking pretty lovely. It is super to see houses and people, and pets all included. Along with fabulous community messages. We’re looking forward to seeing all the other ones that come in. And getting the ‘set’ out for play.

This week I was contacted by Amanda, an Alphington Primary School (APS) mum, asking if her children could put a lizard up on our fence. As part of a school project. And of course I said yes.

And then I got to thinking about what the lizard was for and why they were putting it up … and I rang her back and asked if her children would like to write a little post and tell us all about the project.

And here it is. Thanks so much Abigail and Joshua.

And, on a broader note, aren’t we just SO fortunate to have such caring and excellent local teachers and schools that so creatively give our children a framework, language and strategies to discuss and action positive mental health in these times.

When life contracts to the neighbourhood, community connections really do rock! And now, thanks to Abigail and Joshua, we can all look out for the APS lizards on our walks and know that we’re surrounded by kids and families thinking about our whole community, and that we’re not alone.

Here’s what they wrote …

---

Alphington Primary School is a great place to learn and play. It is full of people who work very hard to make it an awesome environment for everyone.

Because of lockdown, we haven’t been able to come together like we usually would. Even though we catch up every day through Google Classroom, it has been a bit lonely sometimes. To show that we are still strongly connected, our wellbeing team came up with an idea.  The idea was to colour in some lizards (the school animal logo),  and put them in places that are visible in the community. This is to show that our community is united, even though we are not all at school. When we see an APS lizard out and about, it makes us feel happy to know that we are still there for each other, and that we are not alone. After lockdown is over, our lizard friends will help us to remember that we got through another lockdown together.

Thank you to Alphington Community Centre for allowing us to display one of our lizards. It’s a place that many families from our school pass by. We hope that they feel connected to us and others in our school community when they see it. 

 By Abigail and Joshua

Alphington Primary School Students

Alphington CWA are running a little pick-me-up fundraiser this week, full of neighbourhood good vibes in the form of yummy food - scones, brownie biscuits and lemon 🍋 slice.

Order by this Friday 19th. Pick up on Sunday 22nd.

Email here to order.

Interested in keeping up with developments down at Yarra Bend? The Alphington Paper Mill Action Group is a great place to start.

Here’s a link to their current update on the demolition of the boiler house.