PRINCIPAL

This week seems to have flown past. Earlier this week Teresa Hickman and I attended some training on psychosocial injury as the new Work Health and Safety Act requires organisations to have systems in place to eliminate or minimise risk to employees’ mental health and wellbeing. 

It was interesting to hear that the median time off work across all worksites due to psychosocial injuries is 37 weeks compared to 7.2 weeks for physical injury. That in terms of workers compensation claims, psychosocial injuries account for 10.5% of the claims but 40% of the cost. Also, and probably not surprising, that claims due to psychosocial injury are on the rise. 

WorkSafe Visit

Speaking of preventing injuries. This week we had WorkSafe visit the school and speak to Year 11 and 12 students about Worksafe’s role in promoting safety and preventing injuries in the workplace. The agricultural industries have the highest number of deaths and injuries across all industries and there is an opportunity for our students to lead this from the front when they join the workforce. Safety is always forefront in our minds particularly on Farm, Trades and in Residence.

Goodbye

At the end of this term we will be saying goodbye to a couple of staff who have made a huge difference to the College and will be greatly missed.

• Guy Truss has been with us since 2017 in the Trades areas training in Engineering. Guy has always been generous with his time in opening workshops and has been much appreciated by students for his skill, patience and support. Guy is retiring and we wish him the very best in his next adventures.

• Tony Abel only joined us at the start of last year but has made a huge difference around the Farm with many improvements in facilities and systems to improve the operations and also student learning. One of Tony’s achievements has been to bring back pigs at a more commercial scale and in setting up partnerships with WestPork. Tony is shifting back to Canberra to be closer to family and we are sorry to see him go.

• This week we said farewell to Judy Morton.  Judy has worked in the kitchen at the College for the past 10 years and we are grateful for all the meals she has prepared for the students.  We wish Judy  all the best in her retirement. 

Save the Sheep

This week in one of the agricultural media publications there was a story that students at the WA College of Agriculture were blocked from accessing the Save the Sheep website. The implication in the story was that the schools had blocked access to the site. This is incorrect, schools have not blocked access to the site.

Have a great weekend.