St John Ambulance Australia SA Inc. Annual Report 2018-2019

St John Ambulance Australia SA Inc Annual Report 2018/19 33

TRAINING SERVICES CHAIR’S REPORT

The driving forces of our organisation underpin our daily operations; our mission of creating stronger communities through first aid and our vision of making first aid part of everyone’s life and providing first aid related services which build community and individual resilience. This mission and vision is exemplified through the delivery of first aid training and products, which equips thousands of South Australians every year with the ability to respond in an emergency situation. First aid intervention can be the difference between life and death in many situations and we are proud to instil the skills and confidence in our training participants to make that difference. Commercial training has experienced rapid growth this year with specialised courses providing the most significant growth. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) continued to go from strength to strength with increased uptake in local councils and government bodies. Changes to the Department for Education requirements for teachers has continued to grow the Provide First Aid in an Education and Care Setting course and we have seen a slight re-emergence of the need for Basic Emergency Life Support training. Furthermore, St John remains an industry leader in Occupational First Aid, with the ability to deliver this course on a regular basis setting us apart from other training providers. St John continues to cater for industry-specialised courses with our large pool of highly skilled trainers. The iconic green St John uniform was also issued to trainers to wear in the classroom, contributing to the professionalism and reputation that is synonymous with St John. The demand for high quality training in regional SA has seen our business in the regions grow by approximately 30% this year. Trainers have visited areas such as Coober Pedy, Nepabunna, Lock, Padthaway, the Riverland and the Eyre Peninsula, delivering a wide variety of courses, including MHFA. In response to this increased demand, our regional trainers have been upskilled to deliver the MHFA course next year. The Commercial Training and Education and Training Quality teams have worked together in the last year to create the Training Advisory Group and introduce a new on-boarding process for commercial trainers. The induction provides development opportunities for existing experienced trainers to support and mentor new colleagues, and the delivery of masterclasses to improve the knowledge and skillset Commercial training

of staff. The last financial year has seen the training team grow to 30 with all trainers being provided with professional development, including Certificate IV in Training and Assessment qualifications through TAFE SA, financed by St John.

platform for managing bookings, enquiries and donations.

St John SA continued its community first aid training initiative with the CPR Lab, teaching even more South Australians about CPR and the use of AEDs. The vehicle covered many kilometres with the continuation of the regional defibrillator rollout, Every Heartbeat Matters. In 2018/19, the project saw the second 104 of 312 defibrillators installed throughout regional and remote South Australia. Our partnership with OTR also saw the continued installation of public access defibrillators throughout their regional sites, complemented with community CPR and AED sessions with the CPR Lab. These partnerships have both contributed to our mission of creating stronger communities through first aid. Of course all of these achievements would not be possible without the outstanding work of our dedicated volunteers and staff. I would like to thank each and every one of you for your invaluable contributions to St John SA and look forward to another successful year of advancing St John’s mission and vision in South Australia.

Operations training

The 2018/19 year saw the completion of nine Health Certificate Programs, including Event Medic accreditation opportunities. Over 200 members took this chance to further develop their first aid, communication and team work skills and knowledge. This provided a much needed boost to the operational capacity of the organisation and included the Limestone Coast and Whyalla divisions, with these regional areas seeing 15 new Event Medics accredited. The Certificate IV in Leadership and Management introduced the Emerging Leaders Symposium, giving the developing leaders an opportunity to network with areas of St John SA. Members worked in groups throughout the 6-month program to explore a number of the main focal areas of the 2020 Strategic Plan and present their project to key organisational stakeholders. A new process was followed with the 2018 National RTO Audit and the Operational and Commercial arms of the RTO being reviewed independently. Both areas performed very well. Work on the learning pathways has continued with a review of the Recruit Induction Training. The Education and Training Quality team have been working with the RIT team to make training more contemporary and get members operationally ready more efficiently. The new approach launched in May and the teams will continue to work together throughout the coming year to further strengthen the program. In the last financial year, we saw a 20% increase in the number of school children trained in vital first aid skills compared to the 17/18 financial year through our First Aid in Schools (FAiS) program. The course was again promoted directly to schools in the second half of the year, which greatly increased the number of bookings. The new dedicated FAiS website continued to provide an effective Community services

Professor Paul Arbon AM KStJ Chair of Training

It is rewarding to report that our collective efforts to advance our Strategic Plan are progressing well. We can look back on a successful 2018/19, a financial year that saw St John SA further secure its future as a resilient and sustainable organisation, continuing its long history of serving the community.