Blog

Working and studying during this ‘Covid-era’ has transformed the way we work and highlighted the importance of having up-to-date digital skills in order to connect and thrive in your workplace or studies. Macquarie Community College recently received a grant from the Good Things Foundation to purchase several electronic devices (laptops and tablets) to lend to students to help with their studies. We saw a need within our community where some adults wanted to enrol in a computer course but were deterred as they did not own their own device. With our Loan Device Program, our students can borrow a laptop or tablet during the course of their studies.

With some face-to-face classes recommencing in Term 3, we are pleased to unveil the new carpark at the Carlingford campus to our returning students! The College wants to extend a big thank you to the State Government for the NSW ACE Infrastructure Program in providing a partial contribution of $73,000. With the addition of a significant contribution from the College reserves, we were able to complete work on the carpark earlier this year.

This past month, we celebrated our 70th birthday! Established in 1950 under the Eastwood Evening College, we were one of the first Evening Colleges to open its classroom doors to local, adult learners. Much has changed and adapted since then, but many things still remain. Read more about MCC's history.

As Covid-19 social distancing and operating restrictions are easing across NSW, I am pleased to share our plans with you for Term 3 programs. We are currently in Stage 1 (online classes only) and are aiming now for Stage 2, with a gradual and safe return of students for some activities that were not possible to offer via online learning.  Read more about our plans for Stages 1, 2 and 3 and our Covid-Safe Plan.

We gratefully acknowledge a one-off Covid-19 Relief grant for $76,357 made available by the NSW State Government to a number of Adult and Community Education providers in these extraordinary times. NSW Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education the Hon Dr Geoff Lee, noted in his letter that “Adult and Community (ACE) colleges deliver vital services and support to some of our most vulnerable citizens and I acknowledge the valuable contribution that the sector makes to our local communities”.

Yet another memorable moment to put in the College history books. In the first week of April 2020, we started operating our virtual Community College. Another turning point for Macquarie Community College – and this in our 70th Anniversary year!

From Monday 30 March 2020, Macquarie Community College will temporarily cease our face-to-face delivery of classes. Over the next weeks our teachers, trainers and tutors are working together with the Program teams to get their classes ready to recommence for the start of Term 2 in May 2020, where we will introduce blended learning options.

Macquarie Community College is an educational community where we “walk together and talk together” regardless of our beliefs, backgrounds, colour, abilities or other “differences” – where everybody belongs.We urge all to do their bit to keep our communities strong, to offer a kind word or a cuppa to a neighbour that might be feeling vulnerable or sad, to depend on facts not fears. Stay Calm, Wash your Hands and Open your Hearts seems to me to be a good mantra for these times.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is Generation Equality. Generation Equality is a call to action to join forces across generations, to create a world where every girl and woman has equal opportunities to fulfil their full potential. At MCC, we are celebrating our 70th year of delivering inclusive and affordable learning opportunities, unlocking learning and earning pathways for a very broad and diverse range of women  - in 2019 more than 70% of our students were female and from a range of ages between 18 and over 70 from a very diverse range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.

Once again, we are very pleased to share some highlights of independent, rigorous national research conducted by NCVER in 2019 summarising responses about accredited training delivered in 2018. In our 2019 report we again have results that are better than the 2019 national average of all VET providers.  71.2% of respondents were not employed prior to training, with 28.3% of them moving into employment after training with Macquarie Community College.