Job Central making a difference

Ronald Kepa is a 42 year old Indigenous man and had been unemployed for 30 weeks. It was identified by Ronald’s EC that Ronald would benefit from Job central. (ITEC’s in house training program to assist Job seekers with job searching skills)

Ronald is a qualified carpenter who was put off with the industry downturn in the Cairns area.

The Job Seeker attended Job central every day for a period of 2 weeks working very closely with the PC. The PC recognised very quickly that JS had lots of potential and showed great initiative in his job searching activities.

It was identified that JS had could possibly work in a supervisory role. JS was referred to many positions, remembering Cairns has the highest rate of unemployment in the country and there is a lot of competition out there for any position.

The JS has now been placed at Paneltek Construction as a “Supervisor” training young indigenous people to make up frames for housing in the Cape which is part of the government’s new building initiative to build pre fab houses in the Cape.

Ronald’s employer is extremely happy with him, and JS is working full time without any issues.

Ronald has also stated that he is extremely happy in his new job. Ronald had a goal to mentor and train young indigenous people to be the best they can in whatever they do, and now Ronald is fulfilling that dream.

National Award Nominee

Luella Palmer is a 33 year old Indigenous Australian single mother from Yarrabah considered as a Highly Disadvantaged job seeker who faced a number of non-vocational barriers.

Luella lost her job as an apprentice mechanic four years ago when the company she was working for went out of business.

Luella presented disheartened after losing her Apprentice Mechanic position and the fact she could not enter her desired field after thousands of rejections.

It was back to the drawing board for Luella who had self doubt and disappointment mixed with fear of how she would look after her daughter. Luella was unemployed for 213 weeks before perusing avenues of a new direction.

On identifying a health role as a career focus with the assistance of the reverse marketer and Case Manager, the job seeker embraced the prospect and worked closely with ITEC staff to achieve her goal.

Luella was referred to Blue Care in Cairns for an Aged Care Worker Traineeship.

Through Luella’s determination and the hard work from the ITEC staff she was able secure this traineeship, gain full time employment and be nominated for a National award.

Luella was the only indigenous Australian to be nominated for this “National Employment Award for Excellence” and was the only female in the category of “Achiever of the year”.

Luella has shown growth both in her professional and personal life through establishing her career in Aged Care and securing a stable future for her child and herself.

Luella has grown as a person and can see great things for herself in her new found career with Blue care.

Thanks to ITEC Employment in Cairns, Luella has regained her confidence and now is a trainee aged care worker undertaking a Certificate III in Aged Care.

ITEC Mareeba Program

In 2008 ITEC were able to purchase a property in Mareeba located approximately 4km from the centre of town. The property consists of a 16 room, dormitory style accommodation block with two bathrooms housing 3 toilets and 3 showers in each. A breezeway separates this block from the main house which has a commercial kitchen and large living and dining area for the participants. It also has an office, 3 bedrooms and a lounge, these are utilised by the staff and management who run a program which in the last 10 months has evolved and is still evolving today.

ITEC house in Mareeba in the last 10 months has seen between 60 and 70 job seekers pass through its doors. 50% of these job seekers have utilised the facility for accommodation only purposes, a home away from home while they undergo training courses. These courses enable these people who come from many places including Weipa, Arukun and Coen to obtain necessary skills to go back to their communities and take on permanent positions in particular fields where there are jobs available.

The other 50% are job seekers who have come from Yarrabah just south of Cairns. Yarrabah is an aboriginal community where unfortunately there are very limited prospects of employment for its residents. It is for this reason that ITEC house in Mareeba began.

ITEC Yarrabah look for Job Seekers who are prepared to fully transition from Yarrabah to Mareeba. These job seekers are 100% committed to moving to Mareeba and undertaking full time employment.

Once these job seekers have made this commitment they undertake a 2 week farm/life skills course which is run through Indigenous Job Connections at Bilwon Farm. This is an intense program which enables all involved to ascertain the suitability of the job seekers for farm work which is the main source of work in the Mareeba area. It also educates the job seekers on what employers expect today and fully informs them on what are acceptable work practises in today’s society.

Currently the house is at full capacity, and there are people employed on banana, pineapple, and paw paw farms. We also have men working as labourers for a contracting company and some women on a Herb farm. Some job seekers have been working on pumpkin farms over the last 5 months.

The Mareeba house is currently staffed by 4 soon to be 5 very hard working, motivated people. These people not only make themselves available 24 hours a day to aid job seekers in all aspects of the program and their lives, they are responsible for the daily running and maintenance of the house, they transport all job seekers to work, they seek out employment in the local area and notify Itec when positions are to be filled. They liaise with employers to ensure that job seekers are meeting their work commitments. They aid job seekers with parole visits, court appearances, doctors and dentist appointments, all banking and wage issues including TFN ‘s and superannuation paperwork for employers. All and any personal issues, problems that may affect the ability of these job seekers to be 100% committed to their employers, our mentors are on hand 24/7 to help. We are also responsible for re-housing these job seekers into their own homes once they have successfully gained and held permanent employment for a 13 week period. This in itself is a huge under taking, 100 points of identification are required and previous renting information, job seekers need to have saved a bond and then we help them to move their personal items and furnishings from Yarrabah or visit second hand shops and weekend garage sales to help source the basic necessities for their new homes to make them comfortable and self sufficient.

Although a huge undertaking this program is proving itself to be a successful endeavour, enabling long term unemployed people to regain the necessary tools to again make them productive members of society. Enabling them to learn new skills and meet new people. Not only giving their lives purpose but also giving them back their independence, their self esteem and their self worth.

Successful Participant

Stanley Bloomfield

Age ; 46

Employer; Dole Farming

Stanley has now been in Mareeba for just under 12 months, prior to this Stanley had been working in Yarrabah for the local council in the CDEP program. On centrelink benefits.

Stanley is now employed on a banana farm, he has been with the same employer for over half a year. He is living in his own home in Mareeba and is financially independent. He is enjoying the freedom and opportunities that he has gained from having a regular income. He says life has never been sweeter. He is a shining example to all present and future participants and considers his success to be one of his greatest achievements. He feels that he is a role model for this program and always voices his appreciation to all for the opportunity, help and aid he was given to enable his success.

Theodore Yeatman

Age; 20

Employer: Pinata Pineapples

Theodore has been in Mareeba for around 7months. He has been with Pinata for this time. Theo had a rough beginning and there were times when his employer was unsure that he would be able to continue to employ Theo. However due to Theo’s reliable, consistent determination he has managed to keep his job and just recently his employer stated that Theo has become an integral part of their team who would be greatly missed if he were not there. Theo also lives in his own home with his girlfriend Cheryl Creed another JS from Yarrabah. Theo should be proud of his accomplishment, he and Cheryl have managed to set up a home and maintain employment. They both lived with their parents before leaving Yarrabah and have done an amazing job given their ages. They are both examples of what you can achieve given the opportunity and the desire to embrace a new life. Theo has reported that he had no future in Yarrabah and is also very grateful to have been given the opportunity to undertake this transition program. Until Theo came to Mareeba he was unemployed on the dole and getting himself into all sorts of trouble. This opportunity has given him a purpose, a sense of accomplishment and a future that is full of hope.