CET CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

9/4/2020 — CET moves large portion of training online

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused many businesses to adapt and change the way they do business in recent weeks, and CET is no exception. Prior to COVID-19, CET delivered some parts of its courses online — Cert IV Instrumentation, as one example. Due to the emergence of COVID-19, CET’s campuses will be shifting the theory based pre-apprentice and apprentice courses to a video-facilitated online platform — to now be delivered in our virtual classrooms.

Whilst we’ve had the online system for some time and used it for a number of our courses, the preference of the apprentices and employers prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was to attend class in a traditional way. Also, as with the electrical trade, some classes still remain offline as they require people to physically interact with equipment in order to learn and be assessed.

Over the last two weeks, CET has sought to facilitate more of its courses online where possible. This process has involved transitioning these courses quickly and with minimal disruption to staff and students, whilst still adhering to necessary high standards of delivery. This has all been managed in line with the State Government’s directions.

Is it still OK for students to attend our in-campus classes?

We appreciate that many in the community are extremely concerned about COVID-19. The social distancing measures applied to public gatherings are certainly working, and we are continuously expanding our response in line with Government directions. CET can assure you that we have been ahead of the curve in our responses and have followed the Department of Health’s guidelines as we continue to operate.

Our industry has been identified as an essential service, both at a federal and state level. Hospitals and other allied health facilities require electricity to keep the ventilators and ICU beds working. Additionally, the shopping centres, distribution lines and other essential services all require electricians. Electricians form an important part of that workforce, and their training must continue, albeit in a modified way. Our approach is to manage the demands of essential industries, whilst keeping our apprentices and electricians in training and employed. As we continue to educate during the pandemic, our goal is to do it as safely as possible and protect the well-being of all staff and students.

For more information from the Australian Government for Universities / Higher Education / Vocational Education facilities in relation to COVID-19, please click here.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

25/03/2020 — Latest measures undertaken to ensure safety on campuses

As the electrical industry’s leading training college, we know how important it is to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

CET would like to assure you that we are closely monitoring the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines, and are taking the necessary hygiene, social distancing and other precautionary measures in order to protect the health of all students and staff.

Consistent with advice from the Australian and WA Governments, our campuses are still operating and training will continue. Corporate strategies have been, and are continuing to be developed to either continue training services at the campuses, continue training services online, or both where possible.

Pre-Apprenticeship / Apprenticeship online training is currently on track to deliver over 50% of the theory components for pre-apprentices in our campuses and apprentices via our online platforms.

In response to COVID-19, we have implemented a range of measures to ensure the safety of our students and staff such as;

• Social distancing — this is done in line with current government advice. The CET campuses are open and training is being conducted within the constraints of social distancing and minimum space requirements. Advice and signage was put in place instructing social distancing recommendations at the start of the pandemic. The recently raised level of social distancing is being enforced through class management and regular reviews of common areas.
• Sanitation — hand sanitisers have been provided at multiple locations for staff and students to use. Additionally, we are looking at ways to reduce potential cross infection opportunities, such as sanitising hand tools used by the students. Also, a comprehensive increase in cleaning was taken at the start of the pandemic, including the use of hospital-grade chemicals being used where possible.
• Air quality — air conditioning filter replacement cycles have also been brought forward and we are now replacing them quarterly.
• On-campus messages — signage was put in place at the start of the pandemic advising those students who met the original symptoms and criteria for COVID-19 stating not to enter the campuses and advise campus staff via email or phone of their illness.
• Breaks — CET is currently moving to staggered lunch and break times, encouraging students to take lunch in the outside covered areas.

We are regularly updating this CET Coronavirus Updates page located under the blog section of our website — so be sure to check out this page regularly.

Thanks for your ongoing support and cooperation during this difficult time. Should you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

18/03/2020 — Measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19

We wish to reassure you that the safety and well being of everyone of our staff, students and apprentices is our highest priority. Our organisation is taking all reasonable measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Federal Government has announced on 15 March 2020:

“that anyone returning to Australia from overseas is required to self-isolate (quarantine) for a period of 14 days. Note this is legally enforceable and so any anyone in this situation must not return to the Colleges or ECA Inc offices for a period of 14 days.”

CET requests that;

• any staff, students or apprentices who have returned to Australia from overseas since Sunday 15 March 2020 must self-isolate for a period of 14 days before returning to the College or ECA WA Incs offices.
• if someone from the same household as a staff member, student or apprentice has returned to Australia from overseas since 15 March and exhibits any flu like symptoms, then the that staff member, student or apprentice is requested to self-isolate for a period of 14 days before returning to their College or ECA WA Incs offices.
• if a staff member, student or apprentice does have COVID-19 symptoms and has had possible exposure to the virus, they should not attend the College or ECA WA Incs offices until they have medical confirmation that they do not have COVID-19.
• any staff member, student or apprentice informed by public health authorities that they have been in close contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus, must isolate themselves for 14 days after the date of last contact with the confirmed case.

On Friday 13 March, the Federal Government announced the following measures aimed at reducing the spread of the virus:

• “limiting non-essential organised “static” gatherings to fewer than 500 people
• limiting non-essential meetings or conferences of critical workforce (eg. healthcare professionals and emergency services)
• encouraging all Australians to exercise personal responsibility for social distancing measures”

CET will continue to provide updates regarding COVID-19 and its implications for staff, students, and host employers.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

13/03/2020 — CET open for students

Currently CET is open for students, however, in response to the Corona Virus (COVID-19), we would like to remind all students to take extra care to ensure precautions have been taken to avoid possible transmission of COVID-19.

If you are exhibiting flu like symptoms and have either been out of the country or in contact with someone who has in the past two weeks, DO NOT ENTER THE COLLEGE.

Please inform your employer and advise us when you have received medical clearance to return to work.

If you are at the College, and exhibit flu like symptoms, please follow these 5 steps:

1. Report your symptoms to your Instructor or Campus Manager
2. Leave the college
3. Seek medical advice
4. Undertake testing (if deemed eligible or if directed)
5. Supply a medical clearance for COVID-19 (or a medical certificate stating not eligible for testing COVID-19) before returning to college.

We appreciate that there are many sources of information. CET are currently in contact with the relevant Government departments and we will update our response as directed.

Feel free to contact us should you have questions about any of the above information.

Article source: CET CORONAVIRUS UPDATES