14 September 2026
We've just received a letter from Chris Mamarelis, CEO of Whiddon, thanking VoicePlus for our continued support of the Career Development Scholarship Program. It's a good moment to share why we back this program, and what our contribution actually paid for this year.
This year Whiddon awarded scholarships to 20 employees across the organisation — some starting new courses, others continuing study already underway.
What stands out is where those people are. Recipients come from Grafton, Temora, Largs, Maclean, Casino, Redhead, Laurieton, Narrabri and Glenfield, as well as Whiddon's Support Services teams. That's a mix of regional and metropolitan communities, and it matters: workforce shortages in aged care bite hardest in regional Australia, where further study is often the hardest thing to access and the easiest thing to postpone.
The qualifications being undertaken this year span clinical, leadership and business disciplines:
Some recipients are building specialist clinical capability that lifts the standard of care directly. Others are developing skills in leadership, workforce development, project management and business services — the capabilities that keep an aged care provider viable over the long term. Both kinds of investment are needed.
The design of the program is the part we find most compelling. Recipients study while they continue working — they don't have to step away from the residents and clients they care for in order to advance their own careers. For many, the scholarship removes a real financial barrier and makes a qualification possible that would otherwise have stayed out of reach.
The track record backs that up. Over 17 years, Whiddon's scholarship program has delivered more than $1.7 million in support to over 150 recipients.
VoicePlus has spent close to three decades managing mobile fleets, devices and telecom expense for Australian organisations. Our work is technical, but the point of it is fairly simple: keep the people doing the important work connected and equipped so they can get on with it.
Supporting the Whiddon scholarship program is an extension of the same idea. Aged care runs on the capability and commitment of its workforce. Helping a nurse in Narrabri finish a Master of Wound Care, or a team member in Grafton complete a Diploma of Community Services, is a direct investment in the quality of care their community receives — and in careers that keep good people in the sector.
We're proud to be a sponsor, and we'll continue to support the program as the current cohort progresses through their studies.
Whiddon is an Australian aged care and community services provider with residential, home care and community services across New South Wales and Queensland. Its Career Development Scholarship Program supports employees to undertake further study while they continue working.
VoicePlus is an Australian-owned, ISO/IEC 27001:2022-certified managed services provider specialising in managed mobility, device lifecycle management, Telecom Expense Management and endpoint security.
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