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CEO of Nova Employment Sunday, October 26, 2008 Marvellous Night! On Friday (24th Oct) NOVA Employment - Broken Hill hosted what I hope will be the first of many gala nights, an evening that was a great success and showcased many local employers and the ability of NOVA's most recent workers and Transition to Work program. The guest speaker, Mr Paul Hockey (www.paulhockey.com) was a powerful motivator, demonstrating what can be achieved by determination and skill despite disability. I very much appreciated his enthusiasm for the achievements of NOVA staff and workers. My thanks particularly to Ms Jess Burton our manager who had great support from her team in creating a first class platform to demonstrate the Broken Hill business community's support for people with disability. 
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Copy the link above and paste it into your favourite Reader to subscribe to an RSS feed of this blog. To watch a short video explanation of RSS and how it helps you save time reading the web click here Your Comments There are currently no comments on this article Previous Posts Thursday, January 28, 2010 This is my last post prior to taking a few days leave (yes, actual leave, not like last time) and then next week heading to San Francisco armed with an elite team of NOVA commandos determined to conquer the United States.... Saturday, January 16, 2010 NOVA needs you! In fact we presently need many new Employment Consultants for existing and new locations across Sydney and in Queensland. Recent growth means that we are moving some of our experienced staff around, promoting some others and this week launching a new recruitment drive for extra team members.... Wednesday, January 06, 2010 I am against mush but my brother sent me this and I just felt like sharing: A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think: 'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.... Monday, December 28, 2009 Apples with Apples As a person with interest in the employment of people with disability I take an active part in comparing expectation and performance of my organisation against other programs within Australia and against programs around the world.... Thursday, December 24, 2009 What a fantastic year! 12 months ago we were all terrified about the effect the Global Financial Crisis might have on employment and especially for job seekers and workers with disability.... Sunday, December 06, 2009 The work that NOVA carries out is exciting and very rewarding. Part of the role of this organisation is the promotion of the skill and ability of our job seekers and more generally of people who have disability.... Wednesday, December 02, 2009 After another rant at all banks some praise for the world's best employer (next to NOVA) - McDonald's The following was swiped from "The Independent" newspaper: McDonalds goes 'green' in Germany Relax News Tuesday, 24 November 2009 With the crunch climate change summit in Copenhagen fast approaching, even McDonalds has decided to go green - at least with its logo, a senior executive said on Monday.... Tuesday, December 01, 2009 Start with usual disclaimer: what comes next is entirely my own opinion, nothing to do with NOVA Employment, it's board, staff or clients etc... Now look at this: (31st March 2009) The Westpac Group today announced pro forma cash earnings of $2,295 million (that's $114.... Sunday, November 29, 2009 29th November - prior to our projected expansion for 2010 I am taking leave, returning to the office in early January (maybe the 4th, maybe not!). Mobile is not much good at my place but I will check in.... Wednesday, November 25, 2009 On what basis should people who have a disability be employed? There are a range of possible answers that include: Because people of all sorts are entitled to employment as a fundamental right within Australian society and/or everyone deserves a fair go; It's good for our workforce to reflect our community; or A particular individual may possess a unique skills set that offsets any inability; and so on.... Monday, November 16, 2009 Friday night was a truly enjoyable evening hosted by our Broken Hill team who put on a fabulous dinner (I have no idea how the Amazing Nigel put the $50 in the lemon!!) and a great night that celebrated the community of employers at Broken Hill that have given our job seekers so many opportunities over the past year.... Friday, November 13, 2009 After Broken Hill (see previous post) it's a scoot back to Sydney for the Small Business Champions Awards. NOVA Cafe 64 were winners of the Regional award for NSW?ACT and automatically qualify for the National finals! Will Don, Millie and the team win? My money's on 'yes'.... Thursday, November 12, 2009 We're off! Well a large number of NOVA staff are off - to Broken Hill for the second annual gala dinner - we expect about 200 guests to join us, "the Amazing Nigel" and other entertainment that includes a fabulous speech by me celebrating the willingness of Broken Hill employers to engage with people who have a disability and work with NOVA staff to provide local opportunities.... Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Negligence is a charge frequently laid at my door - my answer is it's not (usually) negligence, rather an overburdened memory. In this case I am afraid that I have been more than a little remiss and failed to keep up to date with the progress of a great project: Can-do-ability (www.... Saturday, November 07, 2009 It has been almost 3 weeks since my last entry and you might be tempted to think that nothing much had been happening at NOVA. Not so. In fact we've been flat out like the proverbial lizard working to overhaul our program prior to significant expansion in 2010.... Sunday, October 18, 2009 In Wednesday nights article I announced the Caringbah NOVA teams win in their category at the Sutherland Shire Small Business Awards. Drum Roll....... Wednesday, October 14, 2009 What a great night! Someone said you learn nothing from winning. Maybe not, but it feels a hell of lot better than losing! It is my pleasure to report the success of NOVA's Caringbah team (Gae, Amy, Chris, Gemma, Hayley, Julie & Marty) in taking out 'best community service' in The Sutherland Shire Business Awards.... Monday, October 12, 2009 This is a hint: Last week I had the absolute pleasure of a big hold of Jessie Drimal who has a little bit of growing to do before he can play in the front row, but he's off to a good start.... Thursday, October 01, 2009 Mental Illness, Recovery and NOVA Employment. I am a believer in self-help wherever possible and so am naturally attracted to the work of people like Mary Copeland who advocate for ownership of condition and a plan (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) as a means of self-support.... Wednesday, September 23, 2009 I would like to start by stating that I did not vote for the Rudd Government and that I did not vote for the opposition either. With that out of the way this government and the 2 Ministers (O'Connor & Arbib) that have represented Labor for people who have disability are the best (by a country mile) since Howe.... Monday, September 21, 2009 Tonight's (21.09.09) 4 Corners program includes a piece on a NOVA worker and an interview with our Vic Tyler: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20090921/homeless/ Can I start by congratulating our job seeker on his tenacity and my staff on their expertise in ensuring a match between ability and aspiration and opportunity - and we are also very grateful to our employer, who didn't get a mention but has offered several NOVA job seekers work.... Saturday, September 19, 2009 It's nice to win - although I am told that nobody ever learned anything from winning I would personally prefer to remain ignorant and enjoy the thrill of winning than become an educated loser.... Wednesday, September 09, 2009 No, we didn't win, but we were finalists in 'best service business' and 'business of the year' and we (Gary, Anne, Cassie, Cathy, Caroline, David, Elena, Cath, Susan & I) had a great night and were, in all probability, the noisiest table at the 'do'.... Tuesday, September 01, 2009 Amidst the doom and gloom of the GFC (global financial crisis) it is good to be able to celebrate achievement and particularly the results obtained by the best team of Employment Specialists this company has ever fielded.... Wednesday, August 26, 2009 After hanging around for some time Jesse John Robert Drimal made his entrance to the world and to his new role as oldest son of Mr & Mrs Drimal at about half eleven last night.... Tuesday, August 25, 2009 NOVA recently employed a young lady (Jodie De Ruvo) to help us in our interaction with the community at large and our job seekers in particlar - Jodie blogs for us and what a great job she does.... Friday, August 21, 2009 What is probably the best news in disability employment in the past 20 years was posted on the workplace.gov site today!! Our present Minister, who is without doubt a man of intelligence, insight and courage - Senator Mark Arbib, has decided that a rollover of present contracts is the best way to proceed with the Disability Employment programs of Australia.... Tuesday, August 11, 2009 How to rort* the Star Ratings I. Somewhere between 4 and 5 years ago I attended a then Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR now DEEWR) seminar on what was to the proposed measurement system for Disability Employment Services.... Wednesday, August 05, 2009 I am told (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/05/northernrock.banking) that the Global Financial Crisis started in August 2008 - about 1 year ago.... Monday, August 03, 2009 It is my pleasure to welcome Jodie DeRuvo to NOVA's team in a unique role Simply: Jo-Blogs! - http://disabledaccomplishments.blogspot.com/ Why and to what end? NOVA has considerable resources and receives considerable support from the community and in return this organisation attempts to support as many people as we can to find work.... Tuesday, July 28, 2009 The Focusonability film competition is over and the winners should soon be posted. This project was a great success and our web traffic jumped significantly.... Saturday, July 25, 2009 What a great week at NOVA! We held our regular staff induction training program for about a dozen new staff - this mob looks like they'll do well and will be a great help to the rest of our team.... Thursday, July 23, 2009 It was a genuine pleasure to meet with Mr Mark Arbib the new Minister for Workplace participation and his adviser Ms Julie Sibraa. It's not possible to please everyone (so I reckon they should concentrate on me!) and in the process of improvement of employment services for people who have a disability the Minister treads a bumpy road.... Tuesday, July 21, 2009 There's no doubt in my mind but that, assuming she survives, the Care Flight helicopter played a large part in saving the life of a young lady today.... Thursday, July 16, 2009 This is a great time to be part of the NOVA team. In the middle of a global financial crisis we are (at worst) holding steady and there are so many exciting things happening with the team.... Monday, July 13, 2009 Some things in my life were just wasted on me. Mr Page, my geography teacher was one of these. The poor man had served in the army during the second world war and, in hindsight, suffered post traumatic stress syndrome - any loud bang could make him duck for cover and we were teenage boys.... Sunday, July 12, 2009 The 'Focusonability I' (yes, we're going to do it again) competition has closed. I am not allowed to cast a vote or to comment on any particular film.... Sunday, July 12, 2009 I thought this morning I might have a bit of a rave about social inclusion and seeking a place to start, chose Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org). Type in 'social inclusion' and you will find yourself redirected to 'social exclusion', also a work in progress.... Tuesday, July 07, 2009 Since today I notch another year it may be a good day for statistics (Thank you, but I am reminded of Mark Twain's words: "What ought to be done to the man who invented the celebrating of anniversaries? Mere killing would be too light").... Monday, July 06, 2009 Samuel Butler (an English novelist) said that, 'neither sarcasm nor irony is argument'. That's never stopped me. However, with neither sarcasm or irony I would like to take an opportunity to congratulate Paul Lynch M.... Thursday, July 02, 2009 Well our focusonability competition has closed and all the entries are in and posted (I think) so now its time to get down to the serious stuff - votes and winning! If you have the time please spend some reviewing the entries in both the school and individual entries, it's clear that some serious effort has been put forward and you (through your votes) get to decide who wins our prizes of $5,000 for best school entry and $1500 for best individual entrant.... Monday, June 29, 2009 From memory our last Prime Minister copped significant flack for a seeming desire to return to a previous better time in Australia's history (if I recall correctly, somewhere in the fifties).... Sunday, June 28, 2009 It was my privilege to be interviewed by Murray Wilton on Friday (http://www.2ue.com.au/2ues-murray-wilton/20090323-97ei.html). Murray shares my interest in rural employment and he was keen to tell listeners how they might be able to access NOVA's services.... Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Another bit not necessarily related to disability employment. On or about the 4th June I wrote to the ABC in relation to the disgraceful 'Chaser' skit mocking terminally ill children and their families: For the first time in my life (I am 50) I turned off my television in disgust during the Chaser's 'satirical' sketch on terminally ill children.... Sunday, June 21, 2009 "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" - Charles Caleb Colton,1820 in 'Lacon' (notice I attribute) and so I guess we should be pleased with http://www.... Wednesday, June 17, 2009 I love working here - this testimonial came today: To whom it may concern I would like to let you know that as a parent I am absolutely delighted beyond words to know that finally after how many years???? our daughter *Mary has now reached the ranks of being an "employed" australian tax payer.... Wednesday, June 10, 2009 "Some people are having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they are in the employment services market". I was told that yesterday. I am one of these.... Monday, June 08, 2009 Since I am pretty quick to criticise (particularly the despicable banks - see below) in fairness I should be equally fast to praise. The New South Wales State Government cops its share of negative feedback but has, amongst its many operations, a jewel in the Department of Aging, Disability and Home Care's (DADHC) "Transition to Work" program.... Thursday, June 04, 2009 I note a NOVA Facebook friend (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=84951935077) has called for a boycott of ABC shops until the broadcaster apologises properly (not the pathetic half-baked caveat laden nonsense of today).... Wednesday, June 03, 2009 From today's ninemsn under a story titled, 'why unemployment is good': A sharp spike in unemployment is healthy for the economy and a cause to pop champagne corks, says an economist with credit card provider MasterCard.... Monday, June 01, 2009 For the month of May (excuse me, I should have pointed out that each month NOVA staff have an internal goal or competition of some sort) the 'comp' revolved around staff war stories: things that had happened that we found personally inspirational, moving or likely to remind ourselves and others of our vision and reason for being.... Wednesday, May 13, 2009 We have a special project on at the moment and, as part of this process, have been collecting 'video vignettes' from employers. There are 5 new entries posted to our YouTube site (www.... Thursday, May 07, 2009 Presently suffering from a combination of bird and swine flu with a side order of SARS (well, that's what it feels like) I am able to both plot, scheme and play.... Thursday, April 23, 2009 It was my privilege to spend today training NOVA's latest intake of workers, a total of 11 people assigned various tasks within our program and including staff from across Sydney and the North Coast.... Thursday, April 23, 2009 TPCITBEU@)!@! This is so you can't say you didn't hear it here first - I'll translate later - note today's date.... Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Just occasionally time and circumstance come together for us. The third quarter of last year was just such a time. As I have said I am presently on leave - I am studying (exams next week - wish me well!) and, as part of this program created a disaster plan for NOVA that covered a 'what would you do in a global recession?' scenario.... Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Jian dao ni hen gao xing! No idea what's happening with our web visitors but I extend a hopefully correctly albeit phonetically spelt greeting to our visitors from China.... Tuesday, April 14, 2009 One of the really cool things that comes with NOVA's IT ability (not mine I hasten to add) is a thing called "Google analytics" that tells us where the many thousands of weekly visitors to this website come from.... Sunday, April 12, 2009 I am presently on leave so I have more time for thought and particularly how this organisation (NOVA) might cope with the 'global financial crisis" (I am pushing for a change from GFC to GUYBD which, rather than Global Financial Crisis, stands for Greedy Unregulated Yank Bankers Disaster - although it only really badly affects the poor and disadvantaged so it'll probably stay GFC in our media.... Monday, April 06, 2009 The following is of course only my viewpoint - it's not NOVA's - and yes, I take prescription medication. I'll start by saying that NOVA did not tender for what is now to be known as Job Services Australia and was formally known as the Job Network.... Sunday, April 05, 2009 Having not too much to do I decided to take a quick look at our web traffic analyticals. Over the past month we have received visitors from:The United State, Canada, The U.... Saturday, April 04, 2009 NOVA's latest promotion: www.focusonability.com.au... Wednesday, April 01, 2009 Apparently the Job Network results are oozing out and I suspect may contain some high profile demises! They ain't us and despite rumours to the contrary we will still be here come 1st July.... Monday, March 23, 2009 Usual stuff about the following being simply my opinion and not necessarily NOVA's etc, I don't generally watch commercial TV but found myself on Channel 9's Sixty Minutes last night: Tragic (truly) story of young family whose child was killed by a drunk driver.... Wednesday, March 11, 2009 I should start by saying that I find the concept of fox hunting truly dreadful (I think it was Oscar Wilde who saw foxhunting as, 'the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable'), nevertheless 'tally-ho', the cry used to start the chase of a wily and clever fox is an appropriate title for this entry.... Friday, February 27, 2009 A reminder that this page is entirely my own work, does not necessarily represent the views of NOVA Employment & Training Program Inc and is often used by me for personal therapy.... Wednesday, February 25, 2009 I am sure everyone would have been deeply moved by the terrible pictures coming from the Victorian bushfires - sadly these fires still burn and the possibility exists for further damage.... Wednesday, February 18, 2009 One of the things that (as I have previously noted) people want to know about you is, 'what do you do'? At NOVA we help people who have a disability find and keep jobs - we don't help anyone else, if you don't have a disability you can't come here - that's that, no exceptions.... Monday, February 16, 2009 It's a busy week for NOVA staff - we have a 3 day forum coming up (starts Tuesday) a staff dinner Tuesday night, an Autisn training day on Wednesday followed by a consumer group meeting Wednesdau night - all welcome, call Gloria on 024721335 to reserve a spot - Thursday is the last day of the Forum and on Friday we are all off to Tuncurry for a 2 days managers retreat followed by a dinner on Saturday night to support the Epiilepsy Association of NSW - speakers include yours truly and Wally Lewis!!! (I'll get off quick).... Monday, February 16, 2009 The content of my bit of the web site has been totally transformed by our IT Manager. This in response to my wish to keep myself informed of how we (that's NOVA) are progressing, and how you - our job seekers, family and friends - see the development of our program and other issues related to the employment of people who have a disability.... Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Tragedy Tonight the Board and senior staff of NOVA Employment observed a minutes silence for the poor victims of the Victorian bushfire tragedy. What to say? There is little that could be said to ease the suffering and pain of the victims of this horror.... Thursday, February 05, 2009 Perspective Today's news talks about 2 things that are of interest. the first is our government's decision to spend $42billion (our money) on an economic stimulus package.... Thursday, January 29, 2009 I was born in Brixton in England. England is, or at least used to be, a cold country and every year it would snow and sometimes that snow would be very heavy, but it would always snow.... Wednesday, January 28, 2009 I note that Adelaide has just experienced its hottest day for 70 years. Today the reason is apparently 'global warming' - I wonder what the reason was in 1939? Let's not get too reactionary over the 'financial crisis'.... Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Financial Crisis The nonsense being spread and scuttlebutted by our media continues to offend. Take this piece of sensible journalism from today's offerings: 70,000 lose their job in a single day! followed by reports from around the world that totalled this number.... Monday, January 26, 2009 Taken from todays NineMSN: "Veteran youth worker Les Twentyman has called on state and federal governments to withdraw funding to charities whose chief executives are earning more than $150,000 a year.... Friday, January 23, 2009 Diary note: Wednesday 18th Feb 2009 NOVA's second "Autism & Employment" meeting is being held at our refurbished Chapel Street premises - this meeting is a follow up from our first get together and offers an opportunity to review our progress, have a look at our site and plan for a proposed March 1st start date.... Saturday, December 06, 2008 3.23.30! That's when Mr Rob Drimal kissed his bride, the new Mrs Christine Drimal (nee Harrington). I'm getting old and so I am allowed to shed a tear (which I did).... Thursday, November 13, 2008 I knew it (from today's ninemsn): According to British psychologist Daniel Freeman, nearly one in four Londoners regularly has paranoid thoughts. Freeman is a paranoia expert at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College and the author of a book on the subject.... Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Ladies & gentlemen Please feel free to join us at a: Public Meeting Autism and Employment A meeting to discuss the specific employment needs of people with Autism and program modifications necessary for NOVA Employment to maximise the potential outcomes for such people.... Tuesday, November 11, 2008 Transition to Work 3 reasons not to send someone you care about to a sheltered workshop or 'business service' 1. "Sheltered employment settings fail to provide individuals meaningful employment outcomes.... Wednesday, November 05, 2008 Today It's about 5pm and it's been a testing day with all sorts of hassles. I'm getting older and balder and there's another bill in the mail box. And then: http://www.... Monday, November 03, 2008 Facebook You may have noticed that we are taking an innovative approach to the use of social network sites: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=84951935077&ref=ts.... Monday, November 03, 2008 Fabulous - absolute magic! Our latest E-Zine should be posted by the time you read this (the one for October - and yes, I know it is already November) and what an magazine it is! By far our best effort and so much good news! My congratualtions to Don and the Cafe team for a great result - well done Transition on caring for our new Minister, we're doing alright with the Diversity thing, Cherry is a great good news story and what do you think of our tilt at 'social networking'? If you haven't signed up as a friend of NOVA's can I suggest you could do worse? We are starting to use Facebook as a means of sharing information and ideas and we will be using the social sites to hold meetings and extend invitations to NOVA initiatives.... Sunday, October 26, 2008 Marvellous Night! On Friday (24th Oct) NOVA Employment - Broken Hill hosted what I hope will be the first of many gala nights, an evening that was a great success and showcased many local employers and the ability of NOVA's most recent workers and Transition to Work program.... Thursday, October 23, 2008 What's happening at NOVA? This week: Tuesday/Wednesday: NOVA uncapped program forum Thursday / Friday: Broken Hill Gala Dinner Friday: DADHC MInister to visit NOVA Saturday: Orana Far West Business Awards (Cafe 64 wins again!) Busy week - and we have placed 10 people into employment.... Tuesday, October 14, 2008 NOVA's on Facebook!! Join our group: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=84951935077&ref=ts So far we are small but growing and I hope that this can be a supportive path to help people who have a disability get help, ideas and share experiences about finding and keeping work.... Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Check out the video (yellow box, right of this post). What a great story - thanks again to CBS for their promotion of the achievements of people who have disability. Hope you enjoy as much as I did.... Monday, September 22, 2008 Cafe 64 We have posted a new video www.novaemployment.com.au/webcast.asp that features some of our team at Walgett. So watch it! This is a great advert for Don, Millie and the team - they are doing a fabulous job and I would recommend a detour to the Cafe for anyone travelling out west.... Sunday, September 21, 2008 Whoops! Where did the last 2 months go - my apologies for not keeping my own page up to speed. As you may have noticed we have a raft of new initiatives under way including a 'good news' post (this page).... Monday, July 21, 2008 Oh Happy Day! The 'Welfare to Work' process created some real barriers for person with a disability. One of the most onerous was/is (until 8th September) the procedure for accessing DEN (Disability Employment Network) services like NOVA.... Sunday, June 29, 2008 Pretty Much Right - the latest DADHC audit: NOVA Employment and Training Inc presents as a well organised and well managed service provider. The service users are happy and enthusiastic about the programs in which they are taking part.... Sunday, June 08, 2008 Fixed Link My apologies - the link below didn't work, does now.... Saturday, June 07, 2008 I don't know whether any readers also use DragonDictate, but it's my new toy, and I am spending the weekend getting used to it and teaching it the sound of my accent! I actually saw this program used by one of my staff with such speed and accuracy that I couldn't resist.... Friday, May 23, 2008 Isn't the Web amazing! You may have noticed we have a new feature - 'live chat' (see the homepage) - presently I am the operator. How cool is this? I can see that right now there are 7 people viewing our web site - 1 is from South Australia, there's someone in Lidcombe looking up 'employment agencies in Broken Hill' (through Google), a Queenslander (sorry about last night), 2 from Westmead and a viewer from Nambour - welcome 1 and all.... Thursday, May 22, 2008 Boot Camp! Another large intake of new staff kick off with NOVA on Monday. These fortunate few are the results of our latest hiring round which has seen a steadily increasing nuimber of applicants.... Thursday, May 22, 2008 Still the best! For the past 18 years I have been involved in helping people with disability find work - these days I am more of a pen pusher but I still get to share in the excitement and genuine joy when 1 of NOVA's clients finds work.... Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Problems! I've got more problems than you can poke a stick at! Here's where we are at: To handle the present number of placements some of my staff have to bi-locate (only the very best can do this).... Saturday, May 10, 2008 What a great venue!! NOVA Employment - Richmond is on the move. With the addition of several new staff in recent months we simply outgrew our old Laurence Street premises.... Saturday, May 10, 2008 I am forgetful of the title of the National Council for Intellectual Disabilities journal. I worte this for it, and it's in this month's edition: NOVA Employment: Opportunities abound to maximise the employment potential of people with intellectual disability.... Monday, May 05, 2008 Deeply worrying! I spent the best part of this day listening to my peers discussing the employment issues facing people who have mental health problems.... Sunday, May 04, 2008 I cut and paste the following article from Nine MSN http://ninemsn.com.au/ I'm never sure about the rules for knicking stuff so I hope that my firm belief that Channel 9 are the best journalists in town and Patrick Worsnip's done a good job will keep me out of court.... Sunday, March 30, 2008 Not sure whether I have given my Deaf staff a plug. This is them: http://www.deafjobs.com.au/filmPlayer.asp?Section=Staff%20Profiles these ladies (and their Manager, David) are, to quote Tina, 'simply the best'! - it's probably not for me to judge whether they are 'better than all the rest', but I believe they are and this team has made an enormous difference to the job opportunities avilable to Deaf people across Sydney.... Sunday, March 30, 2008 After the grumpy posts of last weekend I thought it might be time to get back to the good news theme of this site. A new 'news' article points out that NOVA now averages 2 job starts every working day! What a credit to the hard working staff across NOVA's outlets.... Monday, March 17, 2008 I arnarf got the ump! (you really need to have heard my accent for this to work) One of the most important principles and values underpinning NOVA Employment is the right of every person to work.... Sunday, March 09, 2008 Not sure how many times I have started CEO's post's with the words, what a week! - But , at the risk of becoming boring, what a week we've had! NOVA held its latest induction program for new staff and I am pleased to formally welcome the 12 latest members of our team - Gary & Rita (Campbelltown), Cindy (Tuncurry), Greg (Hurstville), Stuart (Katoomba) Amy (Miranda), Joanne (Penrith), Robert & Kay (Port Macquarie), Amie & Johnathan (Richmond) and Sarah (Taree).... Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Today (26th of February), is the first day of NOVA's managers planning forum. NOVA managers meet four times a year and apart from the formal training component of each meeting.... Friday, February 22, 2008 Be warned that there are lies. damned lies and statistics. Last year was the first full year of our new wizz-bang website. we had the services of a professional web master (Mr Steven Daniel - new aka 'daddy') and we added some first class back room features (even beter than the stuff we let everyone see! We also keep first class records of who, where, why and when for our website - we do our best to see who's viewing which bits are most popular and so on.... Thursday, February 21, 2008 There's some nonsense talked in the disability 'industry'! I read some literature today which described workers who have a disability as 'loyal' and 'long serving'.... Wednesday, February 20, 2008 It is really important to start this post with a word of caution, the CEOs page represents my feelings and my thoughts, and not necessarily those of this organisation.... Wednesday, February 20, 2008 As time passes and technology becomes more and more sophisticated, so computer programs offer the opportunity not only to save time, but also to enable access to employment for people who in the past might not have been able to participate.... Sunday, February 17, 2008 Positions Vacant. You will note we are (seemingly constantly) advertising for new staff. NOVA is adding about 25 new jobseekers every month. Depending upon the need of those individuals this means 1-2 new vacancies every month.... Sunday, February 17, 2008 I had the privilege of spending Friday at Parliament House in Canberra. Apart from the impressive building there were other reasons to be inspired. The reason for the trip was a forum on mental health and disability employment, convened by a coalition of some 17 disability and related entity organisations from across the country.... Sunday, February 10, 2008 Just realised that I haven't added to this page since 07! My apologies. I had a great break - saw my brother for the first time in 20 years (yes really - madness!) and then spent a couple of weeks staring at the ceiling courtesy of an aging back.... Sunday, December 16, 2007 Almost another year under our collective (NOVA) belt. This has been the most successful year in the programs history and we have launched a number of exciting new initiatives to ensure we stay on top of our game.... Sunday, November 25, 2007 New Masters! After 11 years we have new masters. What will that mean for people who have disabilities and want to work? I guess this'll depend - If Peter Garrett is right (and everything is up for grabs!) then there is hope! Work Choices has opened up new opportunities for our jobseekers and to date hasn't been an obstacle to employment.... Friday, November 23, 2007 What a week(s)! After last weeks managers forum (thanks to all the members of my management team for their encouragement and enthusiasm) we moved into a combined Employment Consultant's Forum and, concurrently, a new staff induction.... Sunday, October 28, 2007 I have been asked about our view of the respective political parties approach to disability employment with a view to voting at the upcoming election.... Sunday, October 28, 2007 7000 kilometres in 10 days! That's how far the latest road and air trips have taken me. In this time I've seen Gilgandra and the drought affected towns in between there and Sydney.... Thursday, October 18, 2007 What a week! After a great night at Gilgandra (see below) I travelled to Broken Hill on Monday for a staff hiring round - we had a tremendous field of applicants and interviewed any number of people who would each have made great employment consultants.... Friday, October 12, 2007 I am in Gilgandra tonight for the Orana Business Awards Dinner where our wonderful team at Cafe 64, winners of the Best Community Business Award, will be recognised for their efforts.... Saturday, October 06, 2007 Yesterday, I cried (Can't remember who to attribute, but I think I am unitentionally quoting (looked it up - Iyanla Vansant)) - truly, I did. I will miss Racheal Neal like you would miss the loss of sunshine.... Saturday, September 22, 2007 The loss of Pavarotti (see below) was not overcome by my introduction to Shannon Noll (War of the World's), nor was my mood improved by my hosts questions in relation to Richard Burton - who's he? and Justin Hayward - 'he sings with the Moody Blues' - who are they? However, the week has enabled me to spend some time with my staff and I must say that this was both encouraging and refreshing.... Friday, September 07, 2007 con te partiro!... Friday, August 24, 2007 Although I am having a break, the receipt of an additional 35 places for our NSW & Qld offices is cause for celebration and I would like to congratulate my staff on the results that have led to the awarding of these spots.... Saturday, August 18, 2007 We launched www.deafjobs.com.au on Wednesday - check out this great site, and although most of the videos don't have sound (the deaf can't hear) you can listen in to the employer interviews.... Wednesday, August 15, 2007 www.deafjobs.com.au take a look!... Saturday, August 11, 2007 Four days to go and I am having a very busy weekend - we're hiring staff for Logan (Queensland), which is where I am now and over the last couple of days in Penrith & Blacktown.... Monday, August 06, 2007 Nine days to go!... Wednesday, July 25, 2007 In these enlightened 'Work Choices' days there are all sorts of new ways of remunerating staff. The following information was taken from today's ninemsn: The St George Bank is offering employees participation in a new 'scheme' - Workers in the scheme would be paid 80 percent of their salary for four years, and then the same during their fifth year away.... Monday, July 23, 2007 Today I've been sorting through the dozens of job applications for our recent hiring round - This is just an acknowledgement of the effort put in by applicants.... Wednesday, July 11, 2007 Values Vs Stars & KPI's In the over 20 years I have been involved with vocational programs for people who have a disability there have been many changes in emphasis and direction and, in attempts to meet these, a wide range of demands placed upon service providers.... Monday, July 09, 2007 Great Customer Service (Borders vs Amazon Books) Regular readers may remember that I had some issues with Amazon books (the problem ran over 6 months, cost me a motza and worse, wasted my time).... Tuesday, June 26, 2007 I am told there are lies, damned lies and statistics. That said, sometime today we will pass our highest ever number of visitors (measured by month) and the largest usage (by files accessed) in the history of our webpage.... Saturday, June 23, 2007 Hopefully this weekend we will post some simply fabulous new material to our web pages. Our staff development program went well with over 50 staff in attendance.... Sunday, June 17, 2007 This is going to be a big week for the staff at NOVA. Tomorrow (Monday) we finish our most recent staff hiring. The standard of applicants has been as high as usual and I have personally taken part in interviews for Taree, Hurstville & Katoomba - with Mr Hessam's help, all successfully filled.... Saturday, June 09, 2007 Yesterday saw us host the presentation of completetion certificates to our most recent graduates of the Penrith outlets Job Club program. I would like to thank Mr Philippe Liniere Penrith RSL's executive chef and Mrs Nan Brown of Erskine Park High for their support and particularly for 'bravery in front of camera'.... Friday, June 08, 2007 New Walgett videos - follow link to Video Broadcasts and then look for the Cafe - well done Kris & Don (and video host Racheal)... Friday, June 08, 2007 Heaps happening (as always) we are in the middle of a staff hiring round with interviews next week. We had a 'cranky' call yesterday from someone who didn't get an interview.... Saturday, May 26, 2007 Did you see today's nine msn? Check this: A company owned by Kevin Rudd's multi-millionaire wife stripped workers of key award conditions for an annual salary of only slightly more than minimum wage, News Ltd papers report.... Wednesday, May 23, 2007 Yes, thank you, I know the last posting is inflammatory. It's meant to be. I know there are some excellent 'business services'. However, it is also true that the present government funding emphasis on making a profit also often denies the most effective and productive workers an opportunity to join in our society to the fullest extent possible.... Sunday, May 20, 2007 Bright Shining Fib! Because I am old and don't have a life, I often watch 'gardening australia' on the ABC. It's a great show and I really enjoy it.... Sunday, May 20, 2007 Back to business. Hopefully this week we will have a heap of new material posted to the web. This will include a large feature on our Walgett cafe including some very interesting interviews with our workers.... Sunday, May 20, 2007 Didier Drogba scores in the 116th minute to give the best side on the night a well deserved win.... Sunday, May 20, 2007 (a prediction!) - Chelsea 4 - Manchester United 0 Go the blues - I was there in '70 when Peter Osgood & David Webb did Leeds - 40 years a fan!... Sunday, April 29, 2007 In answer to an inquiry. Visitors may also have noticed Mrs Neal & Ms Goyer http://www.novaemployment.com.au/workingForNova.asp wearing graduation gowns.... Friday, April 27, 2007 A little perspective is always handy! Check this out... Wednesday, April 25, 2007 Everyday seems to be a holiday in April! Our regular visitors will have noticed that there's new video content (under 'video broadcasts' - left) featuring 2 of our north cosat workers and their mums.... Tuesday, April 24, 2007 We have successfully inducted a great new group to our program (see 'News' article from home page). NOVA will hire at least once more in 2007 and to assist in this process we have set up a new 'Working For NOVA' link from this and every page.... Sunday, April 15, 2007 My, how time flies! It's been over a month since I've posted - so much has happened over the past 5 weeks too. Here's the highlights: 16th April (tomorrow) My congratulations to Natalie, Sharon, Ashlyn, Layla, Susan, Peter, Cassandra and Ian join our team.... Tuesday, March 06, 2007 Actually, I am on holiday, but NOVA marches on and we have called a new hiring round for April. If you haven't seen the front page we are looking for staff for several offices and it looks very likely (read, it's going to happen) that we'll be hiring additional staff for our training department in the very near future.... Monday, March 05, 2007 NOVA Managers met with DEWR staff for the annual 'how'ya goin' and it appears that we are going pretty well. For those outside of 'the industry' there's a lot of talk about a new performance rating system - similar to the Job Network.... Thursday, February 15, 2007 We have a new class starting next week (19th) my congratulations to our new staff in Broken Hill, Richmond, Blacktown, Hurstville, Katoomba and Port Macquarie.... Thursday, February 15, 2007 I took down the Woolies stuff - but they are still a great employer!... Wednesday, February 14, 2007 It was a real privilege for me to meet today with 4 of NOVA's most succesful and skilled employment consultants. The purpose of this meeting was to kick off a new initiative for our staff - a Mentor program for new workers.... Thursday, January 25, 2007 We are in the middle of our hiring round (met with 8 individuals yesterday and will finish Port Macquarie on Tuesday evening) We have some outstanding applicants, great experience, great qualifications and best of all a great 'can-do' attitude.... Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Just about to go shopping (see below) and then its time to pack and head for NOVA's Taree and Foster offices. We are in the middle of a hiring round and have the privilege of setting up a new outlet in Port Macquarie.... Saturday, January 13, 2007 More than 300 people have downloaded our information and positions vacant package. I am really pleased with the interest that has been shown and we already have a large number of applicaions (closing date is next Friday - 19th).... Thursday, January 11, 2007 From time to time dreadful, awful, pathetic ideas resurface and somehow find friends and sympathisers amongst the "haven't actually followed this thought through" mob - unpaid work trials is one of such.... Friday, January 05, 2007 Resolutions for 2007? I don't have any, either for myself or for NOVA. However, I do have 1 goal that is of the highest importance and you can count on us to be giving this goal 100% effort.... Tuesday, January 02, 2007 Welcome back!! NOVA canvasses its jobseekers/workers for their opinion of our service - we send out feedbacks forms in an attempt to ensure we are looking after our clients and to provide an opportunity for suggestions for improvement.... Wednesday, November 29, 2006 While others slumber NOVA staff are hard at work preparing for an exciting and innovative 12 months. We are ensuring all of our programs are ready for growth during 2007.... Thursday, December 07, 2006 http://www.novaemployment.com.au/downloads.asp We have reinstated all of our old downloads (you may have to go to the bottom of the link page to get to the material you are after).... Tuesday, November 28, 2006 The DMI support video has been posted - you can follow the links from video broadcast to staff training to see NOVA's training manager take you through the forms we use (available on our 'downloads page).... Friday, November 24, 2006 I forgot to (and there should have been at least a trumpet blast) announce we have posted the first in what will be a series of alternative language videos to this site: http://www.... Friday, November 24, 2006 My thanks to Steven Daniel (our IT guru) and our Training Manager, Anne Goyer for their respective contributions to our DMI material (for the uninitiated this is the Disability Maintenance Instrument and its a method/record of how much assistance a person with a disability may need after they have been in work for 6 months).... Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Yesterday, Australia's high court ruled that the federal government's 'Work Choices' legislation is constitutionally valid and as such, now stands as the framework for employment conditions across the country.... Wednesday, October 18, 2006 A certain anarchy is beginning to creep into our website (this is excellent and will be encouraged) as we attempt to overwhelm our webmaster. What's on the way? We will release our DMI evidence collection tools after professional development (sigh of relief!), we have a live webcast next Monday (23rd), we are about to launch a really exciting new training program for some NOVA staff (details on the 7th) I am amassing a mob of volunteers for my disabilty employment in your language videos - this'll be pretty cool, NOVA's making heaps of placements and our retention rates for more than half of our offices remain over 85% Go NOVA! Sunday, October 15, 2006 Updates to this site are a pretty constant event and if you have a look at the home page you'll see we've added our alternative language brochures and a link to the disability service standards in a number of alternative languages.... Tuesday, July 04, 2006 I often get asked about the Training program we run and the courses on offer. If you want detail talk to our Training Manager, Anne Goyer (0298332511).... |
Multimedia Links: 'A Quality Philosophy & NOVA Employment' - opening speech from NOVA's professional development program 19 - 21 June 2007 Working for NOVA: NOVA is always interested in employing keen and enthusiastic persons who have the skills to assist our jobseekers find work. If you would like to be considered you can apply here.
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