Silktails Extend Network To Develop Players

The Kaiviti Silktails Rugby League Football Club has joined forces with the National Rugby League’s (NRL) VET Pathways team and Australian-based employment, training and community services provider VERTO, to launch a vocational Certificate IV Youth Work programme with 30 Silktails squad members.

This is the first time for it to happen for the Fijian club.

The programme, funded through Training Services NSW and delivered by VERTO, got underway in mid-May at the Silktails’ Lautoka headquarters and will also be delivered to players while based- in Australia during the NSW Rugby League’s Ron Massey Cup season.

Silktails’ coach Wes Naiqama, who already holds qualifications in youth work, highlighted that since the players commenced their Certificate IV programme, the team has gone on to win four games in a row, the highest number of consecutive wins in the club’s four-year history.

“There’s a new energy in the team that stems from the players bonding, sharing their learning journey and stimulating their minds, which directly impacts their training, game preparations and ultimately game performances,” he said.

“It’s a win for the player, a win for the team and a big win for Pacific Islander communities in Australia and Fiji.”  Silktails executive director Stephen Driscoll has overseen the programme’s development, which will act as a catalyst for enhancing community development programs in Fiji in the future.

“We’ve spent the past 18 months working with NRL VET Pathways, VERTO and NSWRL to develop a flexible and practical education programme that allows our squad to focus their energies developing future career opportunities and at the same time, create stronger team bonds that translate to better performance and results on the field,” Driscoll said.

“Importantly, the qualifications in youth work our players obtain will actively support the next generation of young Pacific Island rugby league players both here in Australia and in Fiji.

“We can now move towards creating an identical platform in Fiji that the squad experiences here in Australia. The Kaiviti Silktails Community Youth Programme will be launched in honour of our late manager Jacquie Shannon and inspired by the Club’s long-standing partnership with PCYC NSW where our Sydney Training Base is. Our players will work for this programme in 2023.”

Source: Kaiviti Silktails

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