2014REPORTANNUAL

2014 has been a challenging year for Community College Gippsland, as we have made proactive decisions to adjust to the changing environment that is the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector in Victoria.

Among the very difficult decisions CCG has had to take in 2014 was to close Sale, Traralgon and Morwell campuses. The viability of these campuses had been eroded by falling government funding rates which have led to increased fees for students, so less students able to afford to engage in training . The inevitable flow on effect of such closures has been sad farewells to both staff and students of these campuses.

Despite these difficulties, CCG has in 2014 further developed community connections that enhance the services we deliver to our communities. These include OzChild and Cardinia Shire in Pakenham, Outlook in Narre Warren, Yooralla in Warragul, community gardeners in Leongatha, and Mawarra in Warragul.

OzChild chose CCG as their preferred successors to deliver a very successful Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) program that they have run in Pakenham for many years. Due to internal organisational changes for OzChild they were no longer in a position to offer this service any longer so approached CCG. As a consequence of this a second campus of ECG College has been established in Pakenham and received very active support from the Cardinia Shire in this project.

Our continuing connections with both Outlook and Yooralla have led to the development of tailor made programs being designed for their clients to run in 2015. Due to the destruction by fire of one of its buildings Mawarra has been utilising our Smith St campus since April 2014. At Leongatha, the community has embraced the development of a community Garden on our Leongatha campus ground, the official opening of this garden will be in early 2015.

In June 2014 Paul Wilson our CEO of two and a half years announced his decision to leave CCG. Under Paul’s leadership CCG has undergone a transformation into a faculty rather than campus managed organisation that is now geared to meet the challenges of the ever changing VET sector. Paul’s leadership skills and business acumen will be lasting legacies that remains with CCG.

In November 2014 CCG underwent a Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) re-registration audit for the RTO and another for ECG College. Both of these audits have culminated in a successful re-registration. These outcomes are a real credit to all our staff who work very hard on the continual development and improvement of all of our training /teaching materials, practices and processes.

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Sue Geals CEO

Jennifer Carmichael Board Chair

Des Williams Board Chair

Community College Gippsland (CCG)

is a Not-For-Profit (NFP) organisation

that provides community, adult and

vocational education as a Registered

Training Organisation and as a Registered

Independent Senior Secondary School. It

is funded by a mixture of State and Federal

Government funding and student fees.

CCG operates from five campuses and from

other locations as may be required from

time to time, and in workplaces through

traineeships and workplace based training.

Community College Gippsland

Mission To help build resourceful communities through skills and knowledge development.

VisionTo be a recognised leader in skill and knowledge development that delivers for individuals, communities, and industries in constantly changing environments.

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ValuesCommitment to Learning:

We commit ourselves to a community of learning and to the teaching and learning relationship wherever it is found. We value partnerships with business, industry, government, education providers, and our communities in support of those teaching and learning relationships.

The College is its People:

It is people who create the value in the learning relationship and in the services that support and sustain it. We value an educational environment that attracts, nurtures, and supports a diverse student and staff community.

Continuous Improvement:

We value continuous improvement of our programs, services and processes through employee empowerment and professional development in a team-based culture.

Integrity:

We value responsible, accountable, ethical behaviour in an atmosphere of honest, open communication with mutual respect and caring for each other.

Innovation:

We value creativity, responsible risk-taking, and enthusiastic pursuit of new ideas.

Sustainability:

We commit to the educational, environmental, and financial sustainability of the College and its communities. We value the responsible use of resources to achieve balance among social, economic, and environmental practices.

ObjectsThe objects for which the Company is established are to:

1. conduct community college activities principally in Victoria but also in other States or Territories as may be appropriate and as approved by the Board from time to time;

2. plan and conduct education programmes and provide other learning activities to meet the educational needs and interests of young people and adults in local communities;

3. work in co-operation with appropriate organisations in developing educational programmes and other activities as deemed necessary; and

4. do such other things as the Board deems desirable to enhance these objectives.

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Strategic DirectionDuring 2013 CCG reviewed and confirmed its Strategic Plan 2013-15 that included four key strategic imperatives that will assist in attaining our mission:

1. Meeting the needs of our community

2. Enhancing the learning experience

3. Innovation in teaching and learning

4. Be a sustainable business

The strategic plan is available on the CCG website @ www.ccg.asn.au

Governance StatementCommunity College Gippsland is a public company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act 2001. Ultimate responsibility for the company rests with the Board of Directors. This governance statement outlines how the Board meets that responsibility.

Achieving the MissionThe Board’s primary role is to ensure that CCG’s activities are directed towards the delivery of education programmes and provide other learning activities to meet the educational needs and interests of young people and adults in local communities. The Board must ensure that this educational delivery is achieved in the most effective and efficient way possible and in full compliance with relevant legislation and funding contract requirements whilst preserving and promoting CCG’s reputation and objectives as identified in our Constitution; our mission and vision; our strategic plans; and in accordance with our values.

The Board’s primary role is to ensure that CCG’s activities are directed towards the delivery of education programmes and provide other learning activities to meet the educational needs and interests of young people and adults in local communities.

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Specific Responsibilities of the BoardThe Board fulfils its primary role by:

• Formulating CCG’s strategic plan in conjunction with the Chief Executive and senior management.

• Selecting, appointing, and monitoring the performance of the Chief Executive.

• Approving operating and capital budgets formulated by the management.

• Monitoring management’s progress in achieving the strategic plan.

• Monitoring CCG’s financial performance including management’s adherence to operating and capital budgets.

• Identifying, reviewing, and monitoring risks to the organisation and ensuring that there are adequate internal controls to manage those risks.

• Ensuring that there are adequate systems of internal control to address risk management together with appropriate monitoring of compliance activities.

• Ensuring that there is a suite of delegations, policies, and procedures to ensure effective Board and management operations.

• Ensuring CCG’s financial viability, solvency, and sustainability.

• Ensuring stakeholders receive regular reports including full financials.

• Ensuring the efforts of staff, students, and volunteers are properly recognised.

• Ensuring that the company complies with all relevant legislation and regulations including the current CCG Constitution.

• Acting as an advocate for CCG whenever and wherever necessary.

A full list of the 2014 Board members is included at Annex A.

Management ResponsibilitiesThe Board has formally delegated responsibility for CCG’s day-to-day operations and administration to the CCG Chief Executive and Senior Management Team. The CCG Senior Management Team comprised of:

Chief Executive: Paul Wilson to June 2014 Sue Geals from July 2014

Director Quality and Services: Kristen Theile

Director Education and Training: Tracel Devereux

The CEO provides leadership of the management team and the organisation. The CEO is also responsible for achieving the results set out in strategic and operation plans and budgets and is authorised by the Board to put in place policies and procedures; make decisions and take actions; and initiate activities as required to achieve those results.

The Board Executive Committee is responsible for reviewing the CEOs performance and for setting remuneration. The CEO is responsible for setting senior managers remuneration within operating budget expectations.

Recommendations for appointment are made to ensure the Board has the right mix of skills, experience, and expertise and to take into account appropriate succession planning.

Board OversightThe Board oversees and monitors management’s performance by:

Meeting at least 10 times per year.

• Receiving detailed financial, student enrolment, and other reports from management at those meetings.

• Receiving additional information and input from management when necessary

• Assigning to the Executive Committee, Audit and Finance Committee, and Governance and Risk Committee responsibility to oversee particular aspects of CCG’s operation and administration and provide reports of such to the Board as required.

Board MembershipAll Board members are non-executive directors and receive no remuneration for their services. They may be reimbursed for reasonable costs and expenses incurred in connection with Board activities.

CCG’s Constitution provides for an indemnity, to the extent allowable under legislation, to directors. Appropriate director’s indemnity insurance has been put in place. The CCG Constitution specifies:

• There must be no less than seven and no more than nine voting directors.

• Directors are appointed for three years terms and may be reappointed no more than twice in succession.

• The CEO holds the office of Company Secretary and is a ‘non-voting’ member of the Board.

The Executive Committee oversees the appointment and induction process for Board and committee members. Recommendations for appointment are made to ensure the Board has the right mix of skills, experience, and expertise and to take into account appropriate succession planning. The Board may appoint Directors who must be ratified by the members at the next AGM.

Board and committee members receive written notification of the terms and conditions of their appointment and complete a structured induction program when first appointed. Board knowledge of the business is maintained by open invitation to visit CCG’s operations, management presentations to staff and stakeholders, and access to ongoing professional development and education opportunities as necessary.

The performance of individual Board and committee members and the Board and Board committees is assessed biannually.

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The ChairThe Chair, and Deputy Chair, of the Board are elected annually by the Board at the first meeting following the AGM. The key roles of the Chair are to:

• Ensure the Board provides vision and guidance to CCG management.

• Ensure Board meetings and members are effective.

• Ensure the Board considers matters in a timely and transparent basis.

• Guide the effectiveness and development of the Board and individual directors.

Externally the Chair acts as a spokesperson for CCG in conjunction with the CEO and consults and communicates with stakeholders.

Risk ManagementThe Board oversees the establishment, implementation, and annual review of CCG’s risk management system that is designed to protect the organisation’s reputation and mitigate and manage risks that may preclude the organisation achieving its goals.

Management is responsible for establishing and implementing the risk management system which assesses, monitors, and manages operational, financial, reporting, legislative, and compliance risks.

The Governance and Risk Management Committee is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the risk management system between annual reviews.

The Governance and Risk Management Committee reviews the Risk register quarterly and provides feedback to both management and the Board. Compliance with contract requirements and legislation is managed through internal quality audits and regular reviews respectively that are reported to the GRMC and Board annually.

Major risks faced by CCG are around the rate and depth of change in VET delivery at the State and Federal levels. The risks involve changes to funding; increased compliance demands; managing expectations of staff, students, and stakeholders; and most importantly remaining financially viable and sustainable.

Ethical Standards and Codes of ConductBoard members, senior management, and staff, are expected to comply with relevant legislation and in accordance with the CCG values in dealing with each other, with students, and with stakeholders. Board members and staff are made aware of the CCG values, policies, and procedures including the Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest policies during their induction to the organisation and are provided with access to all documents at that time.

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Board ReviewThe Board undertakes a review of individual members, the Board, and its committees bi-annually. The purpose of the review is to identify issues relating to the skills, behaviour, relationships, or practices that may be inhibiting the Board from being fully effective. The review may use an external consultant to provide independent constructive feedback or may complete the review internally. The review process is intended to ensure that the CCG Board can fully address the nature of the services, the environment, and the communities in which CCG operates.

StakeholdersCommunity College Gippsland works with a wide range of stakeholders across multiple regional communities. There are significant challenges across the mainly regional and rural communities that include changing demographics; generally low population bases; mostly local small to medium businesses; poor transport; poor communications; lower than average educational outcomes at all levels.

CCG works with current and prospective students; secondary schools; other learn-local and RTOs; job service agencies; apprenticeship centres; employers; local government bodies and agencies; state government departments; and federal departments to ensure that our education and training activities meet the needs of the communities we have a presence in. CCG uses relationships, networks, newsletters, marketing materials, social media, and advertising to communicate with stakeholders.

Regulatory EnvironmentCommunity College Gippsland operates within a tight regulatory market. Key impacts on operations are:

• ASIC and ACNC requirements

• VRQA ongoing accreditation requirements

• Dept. Education and Training, Victorian Training Guarantee, service agreement requirements

• Funding requirements attached to state and federal project agreements

• Legislative requirements such as OHS; IR; ATO; and the like

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There are significant challenges across the mainly regional and rural communities that include changing demographics; generally low population bases; mostly local small to medium businesses; poor transport; poor communications; lower than average educational outcomes at all levels.

Operating StatisticsThe full financial statements for 2014 can be found on the Community College Gippsland web-site @ www.ccg.asn.au

A summary of the operating statistics for 2014 are shown in the following graphs.

2014 also saw the completion of capital works development associated with CCG’s involvement in the West Gippsland Trade Training Centre (WGTTC) project.

A result of the ongoing consolidation CCG was able to finish the 2014 year with a financial surplus of $113,000 on a total turnover of just over $7.6million

Key points to note in terms of income are:

• Government funding of fees for training is 52% of total income

• Student fees for subsidised and fee for service training is 18.1% of income and increase of 5.6% on 2013

• ECG College income has increased to 9.3% of total income an increase of 2.3% form 2013

• Project income has dropped to 10.1 % of income

43.7%

18.1%

10.1%

9.3%

6.0%

5.8%

3.4%

2.3%1.0%

0.5%HESG

Student Fees

Projects

ECG College Govt Funding

Copy Centre

Concession Refunds

Premises Lease and Hire

General Income

Grants

Interest

2014 Income Breakdown

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The chart below shows the key categories of expenditure. Staffing reductions made in 2012 and 2013 were continued in 2014 as CCG adapted to the ongoing Victorian State Government VET Reforms that saw further funding reductions for student fee subsidies.

2012 2014 % Reduction

Total 182 123 32.41 %

FTE 96.55 61.8 35.32%

Outcome StatisticsCommunity College Gippsland’s primary mission is to provide high quality locally based community, adult, and vocational education across the Gippsland region. The educational delivery occurs in classrooms at the three campuses; in the workplace through traineeships and workplace based learning; and for a smaller range of courses through blended learning including on-line. In 2014 CCG delivered 475,195 resulted Student Contact Hours (SCH) across over 82 accredited qualifications as well as pre-accredited and short courses enrolments.

CCG also managed a range of contract based projects under State and Federal Government funding that in 2014 included Youth Connections; Workplace Learning Coordinator; West Gippsland Trade Training Centre; and a number of smaller projects at the local level.

Educational delivery statistics and outcomes relevant to our mission are shown across the following graphs and tables.

In 2014 Community College Gippsland awarded 461 nationally recognised qualifications across those four levels and awarded 1346 Statement of Attainment for students who achieved passes in one or more units of study.

Recommendations for appointment are made to ensure the Board has the right mix of skills, experience, and expertise and to take into account appropriate succession planning.

62.9%

7.3%

4.6%

4.2%

3.9%

3.2%

2.7%2.7%

2.5%

1.8%1.2%

0.9% 0.9%0.9%

0.9%

2014 Expenses Breakdown

Course Delivery

Staff Wages

Staff on Costs

Copy Centre

Property Costs

Financial Costs

Professional Fees

Gen Admin

Cars & Travel

IT

Lease Costs

Marketing

Depreciation

Phones

Other

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Rural

VCAL

Certificate I

Certificate II

Certificate III

Certificate IV

Diploma

Qualifications Awarded by AQTF Level Qualifications Awarded by Department

209

86

4412 12

98

132

165

1228

28

34

62

VCAL

Foundation

Equine

NEIS

Rural

Business & Services

Community

Courses by Department include:

• Business: Business administration; warehousing; cleaning operations; hospitality; hair-dressing; beauty; financial services; and management.

• Rural: Agriculture; horticulture; conservation and land management; and equine.

• Community: Aged care; home and community care; and disability, Children’s services; education support; and youth work.

• Foundation: Certificate in General Education for Adults (CGEA); work education; transition education; Certificate in Spoken and Written English (CSWE).

• VCAL: only delivered by ECG College at foundation, intermediate, and senior levels.

• Short Courses: Includes RSA; RSG; first aid; food handlers; and a range of other short courses.

Student Contact Hours (SCH) by Department

Community

Foundation

Business & Services

VETiS

ECG College

Pre-accredited

Short Courses

68,731

77,536

97,563

108,89642,435

54,212

22,750

3,072

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Annex A – CCG Board Directors for 2014Jenny Carmichael (Co-chairperson)Jenny is Westpac Bank Senior Relationship Manager for the Gippsland area and has been involved in the Financial Services Industry for over 30 years. Jenny has been posted at Warragul since 1993 and specialises in Commercial & Rural Business. Jenny is very well networked into the Gippsland Region.

Jenny joined the Board in 2001.

Des Williams (Co-chairperson)Dip. Agriculture Science, Post Grad. Assessment and Evaluation

Des is currently the Regional Director Gippsland and Ellinbank Centre Leader for the Victoria Department of Primary Industries. He has a 30 year background in the agriculture sector which has included two years overseas and has extensive experience in organisational management and development. In his various roles in Government, Des has operated at both corporate and operational levels within Government and has been involved in career development projects such as mentoring and leadership programs for young scientists.

A long standing resident of Warragul, Des has been a member of various Warragul community organisations and has a broad knowledge of agriculture across the Gippsland region.

Des joined the Board in 2007.

Mavis Gallienne, AOMavis brings to the Board a wealth of experience and knowledge of the aged care and disability sector, working with volunteers and staff as well as management and board governance. Mavis is currently on the Board of Motor Neurone Disease Association of Victoria and has previous experience as a board member in the not for profit sector at local, state, national and international levels. Mavis received her AO in recognition for her work to establish services for people with Motor Neurone Disease. Mavis is a past Service Director for Vision Australia Foundation, Gippsland.

Mavis joined the Board in 2000.

Julie EtteryB.A. (Psychology & Humanities), B. Social & Community Welfare, T.P.T.C.

Julie is a Primary Teacher but has spent most of her adult life as a dairy/beef farmer. Julia is a past Branch Secretary of United Dairy Victoria (UDV) and of school councils at Seaview, Hallston and Mirboo North. Julie has served for several years on the State Board of VICCSO and for a year as their representative on the Country Ed Project. Julia is also a volunteer with Lifeline and CFA.

Julie joined the Board in 2005.

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Vivienne HelpsBachelor of Arts (1977), Graduate Diploma of Education (1978)

Vivienne is currently the Senior Marketing Consultant, International Marketing Students for Melbourne Institute of Technology. Vivienne has 14 years experience developing projects and marketing International students into the TAFE sector. Additionally, Vivienne has vast experience in consultancy and management within TAFE Institutes.

Vivienne joined the Board in 2010.

Elaine CuthbertsonB. App. Sc. (RMIT); Grad.Dip. Environmental Hort. (Melbourne University); Certificate IV in TAA (Gippstafe).

Elaine is a medical scientist, microbiologist and horticulturalist who has lived in the Drouin area for 35 years. As a vocational trainer Elaine has worked for Gippstafe, Melbourne University and ECG College, teaching teenagers, young adults and mature-age students. She is also a voluntary literacy and numeracy tutor and has worked with local children and young adults for over 20 years. Elaine is also an ambassador for the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne.

Elaine joined the Board 2011.

Andrew PentonBachelor of Economics – Monash UniversityBachelor of Laws – Monash UniversityMasters of Laws – Monash UniversityGraduate Diploma Finance & Investment

Andrew is a Partner at Duffy & Simon and is highly experienced in the area of commercial and succession law. Andrew was admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1993 and to the High Court of Australia in 1997. He has held positions as Senior Legal Counsel at the National Australia Bank and as Senior Associate at Maddocks Solicitors.

Andrew’s experience is built on large and complex financial transactions and includes:

• Providing private and corporate estate planning advice to a number of Australia’s top 100 individuals and families.

• Acting as a senior lawyer advising a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank in the wind up of its Common Fund involving over 75,000 customers and $4Bn in deposits.

• Acting as an expert witness in a major litigation case in the Victorian Supreme Court involving the administration and management of substantial family (discretionary) trust.

Andrew joined the Board in 2014.

www.ccg.asn.au