Lutheran Care is proud to be a University of South Australia (UniSA) industry partner and recently welcomed six students who are completing their final placements across a variety of our programs and services.
Lutheran Care has been in partnership with UniSA for several years offering 10-15 student placement opportunities each semester across our service and business streams. Through placements, students can learn within highly practical environments while building work-ready skills in their chosen fields.
At time of writing, six students are working across our Elcies Speech Pathology service, Emergency Relief program at Blair Athol, Family Zone at Ingle Farm and our Quality and Policy team at Sefton Park.
Sophie (pictured above) is in her fourth year of her Social Work degree and was placed in Lutheran Care’s Quality and Policy team. Since commencing her placement a few weeks ago, Sophie said it was good to discover that Lutheran Care walks the talk, having witnessed how the front line staff place the needs and wellbeing of people at the centre of their work; a value that resonates strongly with her.
“Beginning my placement at Lutheran Care, I was keen to understand more about non-government agencies, as my previous placement and current employment are in government settings,” Sophie said.
“The warm welcome I received from the Quality and Policy team, along with the supportive environment throughout the organisation, has provided valuable insights into the effort involved in running a not-for-profit organisation.
“Although I initially struggled with policy and governance in my university studies, being a visual learner has allowed me to appreciate the importance of policies, frameworks and service delivery quality in a practical context.
“These learning experiences are significantly enhancing my professional development as a social work student and I am confident that they will continue to influence my career long after I complete my degree.”
Over the past few weeks, Sophie has also enjoyed visiting several Lutheran Care sites, which has given her a greater understanding of our diverse range of services and operational frameworks, and a glimpse of the expertise and skills that our team members bring to their roles supporting clients.
“My visits have included allied health and disability service provider Elcies at Sefton Park, Emergency Relief at Blair Athol, Foster Care Services in Kent Town and several Op Shops,” Sophie said.
“Meeting the dedicated volunteers who help keep the Op Shops running smoothly and contribute to Lutheran Care programs, such as Emergency Relief, has been particularly inspiring.”
Sophie is eagerly anticipating her visit to Family Zone and hearing firsthand about the work the Ingle Farm team offers clients in the area.
“I will be gathering data and information from each location to contribute to an Impact framework we are working on,” she shared.
“These activities, while challenging, are an exciting opportunity for growth and are experiences I did not encounter during my first placement.”
As part of the partnership with UniSA, Lutheran Care was also invited to participate in the university’s speed networking event last month, which introduced graduating students to a range of allied health agencies and businesses that employ new graduate therapists.
The event was a great opportunity for our Elcies Speech Pathology team to meet with some enthusiastic students on the day. It also gave our staff a chance to talk about Lutheran Care’s services and who we are on a more personal level.
To find out more about student placements at Lutheran Care, visit our website.