Mick retires
Some people appear as if they are “made for their jobs” – it may even be that jobs appear to be made for them – but, whatever, educationalist Mick Murphy and his job as chief executive of the Baw Baw Latrobe Local Learning and Employment Network have fitted like a hand in a glove.
Last Thursday he walked from his office at Trafalgar and into retirement 17 years to the day from when he took charge of the LLEN as its inaugural chief.
It was a challenging job he took on trying to help young people at risk of dropping out of the education system and probably facing a bleak employment future.
After 15 years previously at Drouin Secondary College and being involved in the establishment of the Blackwood Centre for Adolescent Development at Hallora the BBLLEN was the next step for Mr Murphy and a field about which he remains passionate.
“Satisfaction” is a word he uses frequently when he chats about his career.
He’d have certainly felt that, and more, last week during a round of surprise farewell functions in his honour when approached by some of the LLEN graduates from years back.
Mr Murphy mentioned a couple of those that it had been “very satisfying to see now and think you may have had something to do with how they’ve developed and progressed”.
One was an “angry young girl” when she arrived at LLEN who turned up at one function to show him her two children and tell him that she and her partner were running their own business.
Another was a now mature young man there to thank Mr Murphy for helping him on the path to steady employment and married life.
“Seeing the successes makes it all worthwhile,” he said.
In a nutshell Mr Murphy describes BBLLLEN, that has five staff, as of the education system but has greatest accountability to young people and the community.
“Essentially we are brokers of partnerships between organisations to improve employment opportunities for young people”.
That description is very overarching – and very inadequate.
Its partnerships include the Blackwood Centre, the Baw Baw Skills Centre at Warragul, assistance to secondary schools in the region in placing VCAL and VET students for workplace learning, arranging industry visits, setting up “inspiring young people’s programs” and initiating initially in conjunction with Warragul Secondary College to engage “kids of school age that weren’t at school” in a community VCAL program.
The community program has been adopted State-wide and, Mr Murphy says, now has “thousands of kids in effect going to school although not walking through the schools’ gates”.
He has had many “challenging kids” arrive at LLEN – those with disabilities, from refugee backgrounds, others with learning and family difficulties or have disconnected with schooling.
But you don’t hear a bad word about any of them.
Mr Murphy’s mantra is that “all kids are good kids”.
“Some have had bad experiences, usually caused by adults; every kid has a good side, it’s about finding it and encouraging them”.
“And a bit of a hand-up with a kid can make a big difference”.
More than likely it has been very difficult for Mr Murphy to walk away.
But he said he has left fully confident in the staff team including his successor Lisa Price who has been with LLEN for six years, has a wide network of contacts across the State and was a former mayor and councillor of Latrobe City.