Partnership Project: Macquarie Lodge and Northcott

The grounds at Macquarie Lodge Aged Care Centre and Retirement Village (“Macquarie Lodge”) are looking amazing and Northcott customers who have been working at the Centre are partly to thank. Northcott is a leading not-for-profit disability service provider, that works with individuals to help them realise their potential. Josh is Northcott’s 'NEXT Work & Study Service Coordinator’, and his work involves setting up partnerships for his customers, like the recent partnership between Northcott and The Salvation Army Aged Care.  

“I'm working specifically on a grant funded project, which has been funded by the Citi Foundation,” Josh says. “A large part of that grant is to enhance our work and study service as a whole. That is creating or working with different external organisations to build work experience and employment pathways. Hence why we have engaged with The Salvation Army Aged Care.”   

Whilst Macquarie Lodge does have its own in-house Maintenance team who looks after the grounds, it did benefit from the additional support provided by the Northcott customers. From maintenance work, such as scraping stubborn paint of one of the walls at the Retirement Village, to landscaping in the gardens in terms of clearing the weeds at the side of the Centre and within the Memory Support Unit, the two groups supported the site. They also pruned the hedges in and around the barbeque area.  

Focusing on his customers specifically, Josh works alongside recent school-leavers to equip them with skills which will bolster their future employment prospects. “I focus on customers at age 17 to 24 on average,” Josh explains. “So, once they're leaving school, we assist them with building those employability skills and everything that entails. That’s also around social skills and confidence and that sort of thing. It’s essentially to give them that jumpstart into gaining independence and moving into the workforce.”  

Josh notes that the project with Macquarie Lodge is of benefit for the Northcott customers in allowing them to build employment-based skills. “It’s very different to unpaid work. It's specifically framed for them to build skillsets,” he states. “The idea is for them to just get out and try something different that they haven't done before, but at the same time build work-ready skills. So that includes more than just the work itself, but also being on time.” 

For Josh, he notes the most rewarding aspect of his work and projects like these are the outcomes for the customers themselves. “Seeing outcomes for our customers, building relationships with external organizations? I enjoy that part,” he says and of Northcott’s collaboration with The Salvation Army Aged Care.