Last night the Nintirri team had the privilege of attending the Tom Price Senior High School career expo and to present a little bit about the Nintirri Centre and what we have to offer. Our Early Years General Manager Tina Mladenovic had the below to say:
'Good evening and thank you to the organizers for inviting The Nintirri Centre to be a part of the Tom Price Senior High School Careers Expo for 2023.
Before I start, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, the Muntulguru Guruma people and to pay our respects to their elders, past present and emerging. I extend this acknowledgement to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders present this evening.
For those of you who don’t already know me, my name is Tina Mladenovic, and I am the Early Years General Manager at Nintirri Early Learning Centre and it really is a privilege to stand in front of you all to represent Nintirri this evening.
Nintirri holds a rich history in Tom Price, with Nintirri translating to “holding a child on the hip” or “nurturing” in the language of the Eastern Guruma People.
Originally started in in 1983 by a group of local women who were concerned about the lack of facilities for in the town for non-working women, especially women with children.
Since then, we have grown with thanks to the passionate and dedicated staff, management and board, employing close to 60 staff across our services who work cohesively to fulfil our vision of enriching lives and building thriving communities through our services, which are;
𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 a welcoming place that connects community and creates a sense of belonging through the engagement with the arts, playgroup, toy library, the Tom Price Arts Hub and other other events and services.
𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 The Tom Price Community Resource Centre supports enterprise development, employment and other service providers operating in the community through access to business facilities, technology, training and education, networking and provision of information on community events and services.
𝗡𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗶 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 with the provision of counselling to victims and perpetrators of domestic and family violence and facilitating support and prevention programs to raise awareness and reduce incidence of family and domestic violence.
𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 through the provision of guidance and support to empower men, women and children to improve their physical, mental and emotional selves, including a primary health care nurse and midwife.
𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀, 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 by nurturing arts and culture in our community to facilitate capacity building and community development, drive social and multicultural inclusion and engagement.
𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 being the provision of the best quality care and education to our children, providing a safe, fun and educational environment.
Most recently we moved into our new purpose built early years care and education facility, catering for up to 96 children, Nintirri Early Learning Centre, Ngurra Mungula Yandu. Encompassing the sense of belonging for our children, families and the greater community the Eastern Guruma words Ngurra Mungula Yandu mean “home of the little people” or “home of the children”.
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀
The Nintirri Centre employs a range of trainees each year, including school-based trainees across a range of our service areas. Our school-based trainees work in our services 1 day per week, with the remaining days at school. In 2024 we will have up to 5 school-based trainee-ships available for our Early Years Care and Education and multiple across our other service areas. We also have options for part-time and/or fulltime school leavers looking at taking on a traineeship in 2024.
Earlier I said it was a privilege to stand in front of you and represent Nintirri, in my life I have had many jobs from basic admin roles, recruitment, human resources, bar and restaurant work while I travelled, I’ve owned my own business and raised a family as well as completing 2 years of a Bachelor of Education degree before realising it wasn’t for me.
As I got older, I found that my own values played a massive part in my commitment to my employer, and I wanted more than just a job, but I didn’t really know what I wanted or what that could look like. I didn’t know what I was passionate about but knew I wanted more. I was in my late 30’s when I started working at Nintirri and I am with an organisation that I am proud to say I am passionate about and I believe in, an organisation that strives everyday to fulfil the values that I share of honesty, inclusion and respect. So in my final high school years, would I have imagined the career I have now? Absolutely not. Can I now say I have found my passion? 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝘀, and its that, that makes it a privilege.
There are so many options and career pathways available to each of you and if I’ve learnt anything, it’s try them all, immerse yourself in different experiences, try different things, if it doesn’t work out or its not for you, its ok. Try something else. Passions and dreams change, change with them, don’t be afraid to walk away from something that’s not a great fit and more than anything, believe you can.'
If you would like to know more about our traineeships available, or a career at Nintirri please contact us at officemanager@nintirri.org.au
