Job Description

Any discussions concerning the job go here.
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sunray18
Posts: 1488
Joined: 14 Feb 2008, 12:30
State/Location: NSW

Re: Job Description

Post by sunray18 »

and to know that they have reconsidered that prac and don't want it this week but maybe in 2 weeks time..
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fibreweb
Posts: 620
Joined: 20 Jul 2006, 10:00
School: Oxley High School
Suburb: Tamworth
State/Location: NSW

Re: Job Description

Post by fibreweb »

or after you have spent several hours testing the prac to make sure it works, gathered together the multiple pieces of equipment and then lugged it the 500 metres to the next block and up to the second floor (thankfully there is a lift) they decide not to do it after all.
Instead of letting you know they have changed their mind and the reason after about a week later they put a finished sign on it and you can tell it hasn't been used or you eventually get sick of the equipment taking up the space and ask, to be lied at to your face and told it is finished with. :redcard:
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Lyn
Posts: 706
Joined: 16 May 2006, 10:00
Job Title: Lab Assistant (Technician)
School: St. John's Catholic College
Suburb: Darwin
State/Location: NT

Re: Job Description

Post by Lyn »

Why isn't the PSA referring to the 2013 Laboratory Technicians Standards report for job descriptions?
agregory
Posts: 56
Joined: 01 Nov 2010, 13:19
Job Title: Lab Assistant
Suburb: Townsville
State/Location: QLD

Re: Job Description

Post by agregory »

I'm getting a bit tired of all the admin jobs being advertised at my school at the same level as my job.
They in no way compare! Sometimes I feel like applying for them so I can have a quiet, less dangerous, healthy job!
I have been a Lab Tech for 10 years. I have Cert III Education Support, Cert III Lab Skills, Cert IV Lab Techniques, Diploma Lab Technology, Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment.
I contributed to the article below in Independent Education Union Qld's Independent Voice March 2020 Vol 9 No 1
The Professionalism of School Support Staff
2020 marked 30 years since our union welcomed school support staff as IEU members and we continue to fight for their working rights as well as campaign for their proper recognition within school communities.
School support staff are a core part of our union membership and our school communities, this was never more evident than during the
COVID-19 pandemic when they went above and beyond to support their teacher colleagues, students and school communities.
School support staff have a right to wages and conditions which reflect their essential and complex roles, capabilities and responsibilities.
These roles will only increase in complexity into the future as schools evolve to incorporate and rely more heavily on specialist support staff
positions, for example, in wellbeing and emotional support, ICT systems technology, STEM technicians, digital community engagement, inclusion and
disability support.
A professional future As the role of schools’ change within society, the role of teachers evolves with a complementary need to increase the
professionalisation of non-teaching staff. This is already evident in the flexible education movement for example, where the role of non-teaching staff such as Teacher Aides and Guidance Counsellors has grown in prominence and esteem.
IEU School Officer member Annette Gregory is a highly qualified Science Laboratory Technician and said that without support staff, schools simply
wouldn’t run. “There are so many background roles that support teaching and learning, as well as assisting with the administration and running of a school – most people don’t realise that there’s more of the iceberg under the ocean than you see above the water,” Annette said.
“Teacher’s work intensification is removing much of the time they have to learn and practise skills, source and participate in professional development, do research, plan and prepare for their classes, and as such they are relying more on support staff to assist them.
“Support staff in specialist roles are now not only assisting teachers but are helping provide teachers with new knowledge, skills and practices.
“The number of students with identified disabilities is increasing and therefore more teacher aide assistance is needed.
“Students undertaking ATAR subjects are needing more input from specialist staff in their quest to aim high, and the uptake of VET courses in senior school is requiring hands-on assistance from trade qualified support staff. “In the current economic climate, administrators are trying to retain and
grow student numbers and have need of marketing, event, finance and high-level admin assistance to keep schools viable,” Annette said.
Reality of inadequate recognition IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said the shameful reality for many school support staff was that they were
still largely employed on a casual or contract basis with their hours subject to change at short notice. “On top of this, an erratic piecemeal
approach of governments to school funding and a resistance on the part of employers to provide appropriate recognition, reward and respect of
such essential employees only does a disservice to school communities,” he said. “There is much our union can do however, to organise and support
the efforts of support staff to attain professional status and the industrial conditions conducive to a growing professionalism.
“Our significant historical wins for school support staff only galvanise our current campaign for careers they can count on,” Mr Burke said.
The historical fight for working rights In the late 1980s, our union voted to include school support staff within our membership.
At the time, these employees lacked the representation of a union that understood the essential role they played in their school communities and
the proper recognition and reward that should be afforded to them. Through member consultation and engagement we developed, over
employer objection, the first School Officers’ Award – a major element of which was the provision of a classification structure and associated
wage rates. This was a major win for all IEU members and in late 1996 our union officially changed our name from the Queensland Association of Teachers in Independent Schools (QATIS) to the Queensland Independent Education Union of Employees (QIEU).
Many Faces, Many Skills
By April 1998, a revised classification structure had been developed which aimed to: include classes of employees not previously covered by
the Award; create a new Level 7 for degree-qualified employees; more appropriately reflect the skills and responsibilities of support staff; and
provide a longer incremental scale at each classification level. In 2001 our union launched the Many Faces, Many Skills campaign calling on
employers to recognise the value of support staff in their schools. It resulted in school support staff members getting a seat at the
bargaining table with employers to negotiate better outcomes for a range of employment categories. Recognising the varied roles of
school support staff While the historic wins for school support staff were significant, our union continues to campaign for updated,
contemporary working conditions for support staff as well as a classification system that reflects the essential roles they perform in schools today.
Members well know the major issues for school support staff: insecure work, misclassification and inaccurate role descriptions, little access to
quality employer-provided professional development. Annette Gregory said while the roles and needs of support staff have changed to assist with the evolving and already changed learning in schools, the classification system hasn’t. “For example, you cannot have a non-trained, inexperienced and unqualified Laboratory Technician in schools,” she said. “My role, for example, handles the storage and making up of chemical solutions, some of which are toxic, dangerous, hazardous, flammable and/or corrosive. “I need to know about Workplace Health and Safety (WH&S), what items
can be used by students or should be demonstrated by the teacher only, where to source biological and bacterial specimens, how to store them correctly, how to dispose of chemicals safely for health and the environment, how to set up and dismantle apparatus across the broad range of Science strands. “Yet this role is paid and classified at the same level and rate as an administration assistant.
“Whilst both roles require their own expertise and talents, they are not comparable in the hazards, knowledge, experience, qualifications and physical activity required to carry them out. “It is hard to attract and retain specialist support staff when this is the case,” Annette said.
Careers You Can Count On
The Careers You Can Count On campaign aims to not only advocate for these industrial provisions but to ensure all support staff are educated
on their rights at work and encourage more support staff to join our collective efforts. Mr Burke said in the recent round of Queensland Catholic school collective bargaining, our union secured a commitment to establish a Joint Working Party (JWP) to look into the strengths and weaknesses of the current classification system and the potential for an alternative model to be developed and implemented. “The final report of the first phase of this JWP review has been published and we are now moving into a further phase with the goal of having an alternative classification structure developed by the end of Term 1, 2021 and running a potential school-based trial to be undertaken during Term 2, 2021,” Mr Burke said.
Joint Working Parties have also now been secured in other sector collective agreements including the Queensland Lutheran and Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association (PMSA) agreements. The professionalisation of school support staff is imperative to enable schools to provide the needed student and community supports and services into the future and our union will be standing with IEU members to ensure they have the appropriate working conditions and professional respect they deserve.
Merilyn1
Posts: 1476
Joined: 12 Mar 2013, 08:10
Job Title: Labbie
School: Wollondilly Anglican College
Suburb: Tahmoor
State/Location: NSW

Re: Job Description

Post by Merilyn1 »

Here, here!!
Thanks Annette for sharing this with us. So many valid points - it especially opened my eyes to the fact that teachers say they are over loaded, we are now being expected to trial pracs because they don't have the time to do it themselves. Or they need pracs that can be done quickly so there is a lot more prep for us - anyone who is in a school that uses Stile will appreciate that. I first worked in this job in 2010 and it has changed a lot in that time.

NSW IEU is currently trying to bargain with AIS. It was held off due to COVID. Along with pay rates, they are also reviewing our classification system. You have given me food for thought. I will PM you with my email address.

And, finally, please remember that as support staff in Independent and Catholic schools, we can join the IEU.
RosalieL
Posts: 483
Joined: 28 Jan 2021, 13:24
Job Title: Lab Assistant
School: MCS
State/Location: NSW

Re: Job Description

Post by RosalieL »

That's a very good article, agregory. Thank you for sharing. Yes, I agree that science support staff should not be in the same classification as admin staff. There is a very different set of skills and knowledge required, as well as the increased responsibility of the health and safety of ourselves and the staff and students. I think I am lucky at my current school as I am pretty sure they are paying me above award wages because of my qualifications (I have a B.Sc and M.Agr, and I'm an ex-firefighter so I have HAZMAT training and experience as well). While I could still be on an even higher wage if I was working in a different position, I like the flexibility and hours provided by this job, and I love being a part of teaching kids to love Science without the responsibility of lesson planning, marking and classroom management! I will never add a B.Ed to my qualifications!
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Labbie
Posts: 3234
Joined: 28 Nov 2006, 10:00
Job Title: Retired
Suburb: At Home
State/Location: NSW

Re: Job Description

Post by Labbie »

Gosh every one I really feel your pain. Seems to be the same every where.
Regards Labbie

Lab Manager/Lab Tech, mind reading etc etc
Now retired :wub:
Prima
Posts: 150
Joined: 02 Dec 2014, 11:20
Job Title: Lab assistant
State/Location: NSW

Re: Job Description

Post by Prima »

Annette, what a great article. I hope the right people get to read it and make the right changes. Good luck!
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