News And Events

Orygen’s National Vocational Services Manager Gina Chinnery has been awarded Employment Officer of the Year at the Australian Long-Term Unemployment Conference, which is taking place in Melbourne this week.
 
Gina was recognised for her pioneering work as a vocational specialist, delivering services to assist young people with an experience of mental ill-health access employment and educational opportunities.

The 2015 Employment recognise those individuals, organisations and projects that significantly improve the employment outcomes for the long-term unemployed.

This is the second time this year that Ms Chinnery has been honoured for the work she is doing with young people with an experience of mental ill-health. Earlier this year she was awarded the 2015 Practitioner of the Year Award from the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA), an award that 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 also worked extensively with Professor Eóin 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 ill-health in Australia.
 
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.
 
Last month in her role as National Vocational Services Coordinator at Orygen, Gina helped launch a new partnership program with Campbell Page to trial an IPS service in our Glenroy and Craigieburn headspace sites.

Related resources:

Working it Out: Vocational Recovery in Early Psychosis
Keeping on Track: Functional Recovery in Early Psychosis
School's In: A Focus on Education During First Episode Psychosis