Congratulations to Orygen’s National Vocational Services Manager Gina Chinnery on being awarded the 2015 Practitioner of the Year Award from the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA). The award recognises outstanding achievement in the design, promotion and delivery of best practice career development services and the sharing of programs and resources with colleagues.
Gina has been recognised for her pioneering work as a vocational specialist within the Orygen Youth Health Clinical Program, delivering services to assist young people with an experience of mental ill-health gain employment and educational opportunities.
The effectiveness of Gina’s work within the Vocational Recovery Program at Orygen was last year featured in a report on the ABC 7.30 program.
Gina has also worked extensively with Professor Eoin Killackey on his innovative research on youth vocational programs, in particular the delivery of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services for young people. She was a significant contributor to the Tell Them They’re Dreaming report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the issues surrounding work and education for young people with mental illness in Australia.
IPS services were highlighted in the recent McClure review of Australia’s welfare system as a proven way to support young people with mental illness to reach better employment and educational outcomes.
Gina also led the development of the Working it Out: Vocational Recovery in First Episode Psychosis manual, which presents evidence and clinical expertise to help early psychosis services establish and implement an effective vocational recovery program.
She recently returned from a visit to Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center in the United States, where international leaders in the delivery of IPS services assembled for supervisor training.
Gina has recently been appointed to the role of National Vocational Services Manager at Orygen where she has taken a leading role in vocational workforce development in the Australian youth mental health sector.