The Mareeba team after completing their training
Mareeba Shire Council has kicked off the Rural and Remote Capacity Building Project by undertaking vital training in the safe handling of sharps and infectious waste.
With the handling of sharps and infectious waste an increasingly common task required by employees at Council to undertake, Council welcomed Jason Taylor from Category 5 Emergency Care to deliver the training to 24 staff members.
Staff were trained how to remove the potentially dangerous materials safely and were awarded accredited certificates at the end of the program.
“The course was presented in a practical and entertaining manner and has assisted our employees greatly in how they handle sharps in a safe and operationally pragmatic manner,” Mareeba Shire Council HR & WHS Support Officer Kylie Stankovich said.
“The staff thoroughly enjoyed the training and will benefit from this training when working outdoors.”
Some of the performance tasks required in the training were the basic disposal of a single exposed sharp, the complex disposal of multiple exposed and hidden sharps and proper and safe disposal of infectious waste.
The LGAQ will receive $3 million in funding for the Rural and Remote Capacity Building Project from the Department of Youth Justice, Small Business, Employment and Training to help address workforce challenges including labour shortages and staff retention issues in rural and remote areas.
It’s aimed at boosting employees’ skills, meeting local needs and retaining workers in these communities.
LGAQ’s Workforce team is liaising with councils’ HR managers to discuss training needs, then organising training to be delivered through a registered training organisation.
If your council is interested in receiving training, and is one of the eligible councils under the Program below, please reach out to the Workforce team on 1300 542 700.
Rural and Remote Capacity Building Project Councils:
- Balonne Shire Council
- Banana Shire Council
- Barcoo Shire Council
- Barcaldine Regional Council
- Blackall-Tambo Regional Council
- Boulia Shire Council
- Bulloo Shire Council
- Charters Towers Regional Council
- Cloncurry Shire Council
- Diamantina Shire Council
- Etheridge Shire Council
- Flinders Shire Council
- Goondiwindi Regional Council
- Longreach Regional Council
- Mareeba Shire Council
- McKinlay Shire Council
- Murweh Shire Council
- North Burnett Regional Council
- Quilpie Shire Council
- Richmond Shire Council
- South Burnett Regional Council
- Southern Downs Regional Council
- Tablelands Regional Council
- Winton Shire Council.