Get in quick
I ENCOURAGE apprentices in the region who are facing financial hardship to apply for a Bert Evans Scholarship from the NSW government before May 30.
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Local employers and training providers can also nominate candidates for one of 50 scholarships offered each year by the NSW government.
Fifty scholarships worth $5000 a year for three years are awarded to country apprentices, Aboriginal apprentices, women undertaking non-traditional trades and apprentices with a disability.
An apprenticeship is a great way to kick-start a career, and apprentices are vital to the state’s growth. However it’s not always easy to complete a trade qualification when experiencing financial hardship.
My message to training providers and employers is this – if you know of a deserving first year apprentice, encourage them to apply for a scholarship before the May 30 deadline.
The scholarships are named after the late Bert Evans, who was a distinguished advocate of the VET sector for more than 30 years.
For more Information and to apply, visit www.training.nsw.gov.au.
Adrian Piccoli
Member for Murray
Figures can be changed
NEW figures from the Cancer Institute NSW show that by the end of 2021 a further 1250 people in Murrumbidgee will be diagnosed with bowel cancer and more than 370 will lose their life to the disease.
This means that on average someone will die from bowel cancer in this community every five days.
However, experts say it is possible to change these figures through a very simple test.
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program sends a bowel cancer screening kit to all Australians 50 to 74 on a regular basis. This kit, which can be done in a person’s home, can detect potential warning signs of bowel cancer at a very early stage, before symptoms develop.
This means people are more likely to be diagnosed at the earliest stages when the chances of survival are at their highest.
In fact, for some, a positive result on a bowel cancer screening test can lead to changes being detected and treated before they turn into cancer.
Bowel cancer is the second most common cancer in Murrumbidgee and the second most common cause of cancer deaths.
As clinicians, too often we have to have difficult conversations with families about their diagnoses and treatment options. If we had detected these cancers while they were still localised, the prognoses would be very different.
More than half of the bowel cancer cases diagnosed in Murrumbidgee have already spread by the time they are detected.
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is a free service which mails screening kits to people aged 50 to 74 years.
For more information and to check your eligibility, visit cancerscreening.gov.au or call 1800 118 868
Angela Booth
Manager Cancer Services and Innovation
Murrumbidgee Local Health District
Yay or Nay
Yay
Thank you to our mayor Paul Maytom. He always goes above and beyond. He has made sure roads near where live have been fixed and it has made it a much better place. I believe this has also saved many lives in the process. He continues to do good work for our community, but he never gets the recognition, so thank you.
Yay
To the unidentified young girl who purchased a fruit slice as a “reward” for me when she considered I had done a good deed. It was delicious even if it was a complete surprise. Thank you.