Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Mission Australia have signed an agreement to train Mission Australia staff in business and management skills.

 

The five-year agreement, believed to be the first of its kind in Australia between a university and an NGO, will provide access to university accredited courses for more than 3000 staff through the Mission Australia Business School.

 

The academic program will be delivered in partnership with CSU’s Professional Development Unit (PDU) in the Faculty of Commerce and will initially offer postgraduate studies including the CSU Graduate Certificate in Commerce; Graduate Diploma in Commerce and Masters of Management.

 

“CSU’s reputation and expertise in distance education and flexible industry-based delivery were crucial in our choice of CSU to form the articulation agreement,” said Mr Ken Tapfield, Mission Australia’s General Manager, Human Resources.

 

“As an ‘employer of choice’, Mission Australia is committed to ensuring our staff have opportunities for skills and career development which is why we established the Mission Australia Business School – an external certification program available to all our staff in about 330 services throughout Australia.”

 

The articulation agreement with CSU will allow all employees to access University accredited courses, several of which have been written specifically for the staff of Mission Australia and designed especially for not-for-profit organisations.

 

Twenty-four Mission Australia staff are already undertaking CSU’s Graduate Certificate in Commerce as distance education students. Mission Australia will subsidise some of the tuition fees for each subject and staff will be given study leave to attend workshops and tutorials.

 

Speaking at the signing of the agreement with CSU on February 20, Mission Australia CEO Patrick McClure said the innovative staff education program was a model for Australian not-for-profit organisations