Last Thursday, Wimmera Southern Mallee Local Learning and Employment Network members held its annual general meeting to celebrate 20 years of helping Wimmera youths find educational opportunities.
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LLEN is a Victorian State Government initiative established to bring local education, industry, community organisations, parents and government agencies together to support young people in their year-12 studies.
The organisation offers other training courses such as apprenticeships, traineeships and vocational training.
LLEN Wimmera Southern Mallee chief executive Tim Shaw said the organisation had a 'priority' focus on helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"Our work has significant impact in our communities across the Wimmera Southern Mallee region," he said.
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"As a relatively small organisation, we achieve real impact through the combined efforts and support of our partners."
This year, Wimmera Southern Mallee LLEN officials plan to focus on supporting student work placements, apprenticeships, and traineeships.
Mr Shaw said the future of the Wimmera-Southern Mallee depended on young people, and the organisation was determined to help them succeed.
"We approach the coming years with a strong resolve to work with our schools and partners to improve the education and employment opportunities for our young people," he said.
"The future prosperity and well-being of our region are dependent on providing our youth with the knowledge, skills and confidence to succeed in the 21st century.
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"Our mission is clear and we remain committed to working with our partners to develop positive futures for our young people and our region."
Mr Shaw said there were numerous guest speakers at the meeting, such as John Millington, who helped set up the education provider.
He said another guest speaker at the meeting was Sally Koenig, who had founded the Mates Mentoring Program in 2011.
Mr Shaw said the Mates Mentoring Program had been implemented in about 17 schools in the Wimmera.
"The program allows community volunteers to mentor a young person for one year and it supports that young person so that they are engaged in an educational activity, " he said.
Mr Shaw also thanked Andrew Vague for being a guest speaker at the event.
He said that Mr Vague was a former chairman of the Western Victorian Careers Expo.
"Andrew spoke about the careers expo and the benefits of it for Wimmera-southern Mallee students," he said.
Mr Shaw said there would be a leadership change within LLEN Wimmera Southern Mallee.
He said Brendan Ryan was announced as the new president of the management committee during the meeting.
Mr Shaw said Mr Ryan would take over from Alethea Gulvin, who left the role for family reasons.
Mr Shaw said Mr Ryan had been involved in the organisation for more than a decade and would immediately start in his new role.
He said Horsham College principal Rob Pyers was also announced as a new member of the management committee.
Mr Shaw said that Horsham Rural City Council mayor Robyn Gulline had also attended the event.
"Robyn helped us distribute some certificates for our longstanding members which included, Brendan Ryan for helping us for 15 years, Alethea Gulvin for five years of service and Debra Nelson for five years of involvement in the organisation," he said.
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