Selina combines her culture and qualifications to help her community

A proud Gamilaroi woman, Selina’s focus within social services is to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and assist them to live better lives.

Joining the team at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) in Logan, Selina began working in the child safety arena with families in the area.

“I have a passion for child safety issues and wanted a career helping improve outcomes for identified families. Child safety doesn’t always do a great job with our people, which has been the case since colonisation,” explained Selina.

Working as a Family Participation Empowerment Practitioner, Selina was offered the opportunity to study for a Diploma of Child, Youth and Family Intervention (CHC50321) through her employer.

The opportunity arose when ATSICHS began offering its staff access to diploma-level qualifications to enhance their skills through a partnership with TAFE Queensland.

This partnership saw TAFE’s teachers work with ATSICHS staff, sharing knowledge and practical skills they can use to continue to raise the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the wider Brisbane and Logan communities.

Delivered in ATSICHS training rooms at their Bullang Bujerim site in Logan, Deb Stephens brought decades of industry insights, knowledge and cultural sensitivity to each session, developing Selina’s professional development and enhancing her skills and self-confidence.

“Deb would visit us once a week to train, and I loved it – it was so good. She was motivating, inspiring, and genuinely excited when we achieved each goal. Having her cheer us on made all the difference.”

“I used to hate studying, but the experience with Deb was very different to any study I've done before. It was very hands-on, and I learned so much that I’m using in every client interaction.”

In addition to improving her interpersonal communication skills, Selina’s confidence in her abilities has skyrocketed thanks to the course.

“Just 12 months ago, my manager introduced me to the concept of imposter syndrome, and I was like ‘that is me’, but now that’s completely gone. Thanks to this course, I have more confidence in the workplace and myself.”

Also helping Selina to improve community outcomes is Fee-Free TAFE funding, which is part of the Queensland Government's Good People. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022–2032.

It aims to connect, educate, and attract the people needed to meet the state's workforce demand in existing and new industry sectors and support continued economic growth.

With approximately 37,000 Fee-Free TAFE and vocational education and training places available in 2024, the program will support Queenslanders to skill up to meet the state's current and future workforce needs by enabling them to complete selected qualifications at no or low cost.

“Each day, I use the skills and strategies I learned to uncover the needs of identified children and families, get their point of view, understand what's happening in their world, and make a plan for their household.”

“I then take that plan back to child safety, who come for a home visit, and we have those conversations. I help by giving families a voice to stand up and say, ‘This is what we're doing for our family,’ I work to help them get a positive outcome.”

“With my skills and knowledge, and being Aboriginal, I know the challenges Indigenous children and families face, and I love connecting my culture to help them. I want all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to gain access to the services they need to raise their health and wellbeing.”

“Having a cultural connection is great for helping identified children and families, and linking my skills, knowledge, and passion to help them is so satisfying and further enhances my confidence,” said Selina.

Selina is channelling her newfound confidence and skills into the next evolution of her career as she focuses on specialising in domestic violence prevention.

“There are not enough domestic violence prevention practitioners equipped to do meaningful work with families experiencing domestic violence. I know I’m under-skilled right now, and we need more skilled people, so I look forward to studying further and building more skills to help even more people.”

Selina is grateful that her passion for caring was formalised through a diploma, thanks to hands-on training, her excellent teacher, and the partnership the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service has with TAFE Queensland.

“I’m fortunate that I was so well prepared by Deb - the combination of my training, my culture, my work experience and my passion has set me up for a fulfilling career,” concluded Selina.