Becoming an IEP Australia Fellow is the ideal way for employability sector leaders to have a positive influence on our industry, and two new members of the collective are already turning their thoughts to how they can help.
Maruska Batakovic FIEP and Rajkumar Karunamurthy FIEP are among more than 20 recent additions to IEP Australia Fellowship.
Maruska, the Service Delivery Manager – Relationships at AMES Australia, learned about IEP Fellowship from her organisation’s General Manager, Peter Harrison.
“I was intrigued by the global connections. I have worked in Employment Services for the better part of 20 years,” she says.
“It is very insular, and unless you work in the sector it is not well known, nor held in high regard in Australia.
“I believe the reputation of Employment Services has improved somewhat over the years but still needs attention and positive exposure.”
Raj is a 15-year veteran of disability employment services and Rehabilitation Counsellor for Sunrise Coordination Services.
“I feel in DES and NPA we have a training gap within the sector,” he says.
“I want to work with IEP to close the gap as much we can.”
Another goal for Raj is developing micro-credentials for employment consultants to work with DES participants, while developing ongoing training for the employability sector.
Among Maruska’s aims is supporting organisations to live up to their values.
“At times, some struggle to manage their core objectives and ethos while servicing the employment services contracts,” she says.
“I feel I can add some pearls of wisdom where this becomes an ethical issue. I like to keep things simple – we can, at times, overcomplicate.”
We are thrilled to have Maruska and Raj involved in our Fellowship program.
If you would like to learn more about our collective and the ways we are supporting the employability sector, contact Matt Crossingham at matthew.crossingham@iemployability.org
