This year Macquarie Community College will be celebrating 75 years of continuous operations, adapting and responding to the changes through the decades and, most importantly, to the training and education needs of our communities. A lot has happened since 1950, especially for women and girls.
Thirty years ago, the world made a bold commitment to gender equity through the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Since then, women have broken barriers, reshaped policies, and led global movements – but there is still so much more opportunity to continue progressing, step by step, in the march forward for all women and girls.
Ten years ago, I took up the honour and the challenge of being the CEO of the College and am proud that MCC is so deeply committed to providing high-quality, accessible education and training, empowering individuals and building stronger communities.
As a community-based adult education provider, we believe that participation in quality education and training is a key enabler of better futures. International Women’s Day is a time to reflect and celebrate what we do that creates greater equality of opportunities for women and girls.
Empowering Women Through Education
The vast majority of our students across our MCC programs and campuses are women – from all backgrounds and all ages, from teenagers to seniors. In many cases, our learners manage their learning alongside their busy lives at work, keeping their family and households running smoothly, and staying connected to their communities.
Access to participation in quality training and education is made possible by:
- Creating and providing engaging learning opportunities that meet the needs of our students. Our student satisfaction and recommendation scores are always well over 90%, and our students report excellent learning and employment outcomes.
- Keeping it affordable. Equitable access is made possible through our long-term engagement as a trusted and high-performing provider of NSW and Commonwealth government-subsidised and fee-free training. Additionally, we do our very best to keep all of our fee-paying courses affordable and value for money, including offering payment plans.
- Ensuring we are inclusive for all learners, where our learners feel welcomed, respected, and supported.
- Embracing diversity. We pride ourselves on the diversity of our classrooms, with students from all walks of life, cultures, and abilities.
- Support when needed. Some learners need additional support to help them move along their learning pathways. We offer small class sizes and focus on face-to-face teaching in welcoming environments where we really get to know our students.
- Accessible options. Convenient class times at our campuses and choices around Zoom or fully online learning help our students manage their education alongside their other commitments. Moreover, being close to transport and working with community partners to bring the college to them in familiar locations also helps increase options for female learners.
Lifelong Learning – is An Everyday Mission
Empowering women and girls on their lifelong learning journey is an ongoing commitment at MCC – not just on International Women’s Day. Indeed, we successfully enable women of all ages in our communities to Never Stop Learning – making it possible and enjoyable to participate in a huge range of short courses and nationally recognised qualifications.
Thank you to all our students, staff, volunteers, funders, community partners, and supporters who create stronger communities through the power of learning and connection.
Theresa Collignon, CEO to Macquarie Community College