The Gordon TAFE Geelong Virtual Asbestos & Silica Awareness Session
28th Oct 2020 – Today our org did a virtual asbestos and silica awareness session to 11 apprentice Painting & Decorating students at Geelong TAFE. We would like to thank Paul Webb their trade teacher for going above and beyond in making this happen. We were pleased to get feed back that the session was really valuable. It was also great to get calls after the session asking questions – we wish the apprentices all the best in their future trade – now more apprentices are asbestos and silica aware
Our Zoom Support Group Meetings During COVID
27th Oct – Our asbestos and silica support group met virtually – as we have been doing for a number of months since COVID restrictions commenced – much chatter and catching up was had by all. We were very lucky to have a great speaker – Kate Carmichael – Program Manager of the Latrobe Valley Asbestos Task Force came along and gave a presentation on what has happened since the task force was formed and where to from here – The support group members enjoyed the talk and learnt a lot about what is happening in the asbestos arena in Latrobe Valley – they were impressed to hear about all the great partnerships that have been formed to combat asbestos in our community – our members come from far and wide with some hooking in from Sale/Heyfield and Berwick way – all in all a really great session – see pic taken of some of those on the zoom meeting
COVID-19 Our Heroes in the Pandemic 2020
This is our employee, Maitea, who conducts our support group in Melbourne – the support group is shut down for the rest of this year due to COVID-19 but, Maitea is still very busy as she is a registered nurse and working in a COVID ward in Frankston. She is our hero and we are proud to call her our friend. She has 3 teenage children at home and an elderly mother to look after β every night/day depending on her shift, Maitea goes home to a strict hygiene regime before she enters the house. Maitea is worried about her co-workers who have the virus and for the health of her family. The front line workers of this pandemic are our heroes and we cannot praise them enough.
Maitea, keeps in touch by zoom – text messages and phone calls with us. Electronic mediums of any sort have been a God send to keep the lines of communication open. So no one should feel alone.
We are reaching out to everyone – employers, employees and the community to say donβt let anyone get complacent about the restrictions as this virus can kill β We hear so many stories about people who have contracted this virus and none of it is pretty.
Please make sure everyone adheres to the restrictions it is so important. The life you save could be your own or someone you love.
Renovating safely during COVID-19
During this time of social distancing, you may be thinking this is the perfect opportunity to make some headway on your renovations or home improvements. While the extra time available is ideal, it is important to remember that your home could contain asbestos, and you need to ensure any asbestos removal work is done safely.