Today, Potatau is a confident and intelligent young man, well on his way to a bright future after successfully securing part time employment just one week into commencing the R U BUSY? program at Busy Beat’s Southport office.
The Busy Beat Pre-Employment and Training Centre in Southport is a free service provided by BUSY At Work, with the hub supporting Gold Coast jobseekers and community members as they prepare themselves for entry into the workforce.
The R U BUSY? program, which is comprised of an eight-week course and a four-week structured job search, is a pre-employment program that mentors 15-19 year olds who have left school early and lack the skills and resources needed to enter the workforce. Qualified Youth Project Officers guide and support the young men and women who commence the program to learn new skills, improve their self-confidence, and help them work towards attaining life and career goals.
Many participants, some of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds, want to improve their quality of life but lack the knowledge and skills to do so. For participants like Potatau, who is a New Zealand citizen and unable to access government or community organisation support, being unable to secure work this year despite finishing Year 11 and actively upskilling and gaining work experience meant that he faced a difficult road ahead without the support from this program.
Potatau, who is a passionate and talented film-maker and photographer, wanted to secure full-time work, ideally in the retail sector as quickly as possible and needed help from Busy Beat’s Youth Project Officers to help him better his job search, resume and cover letter writing skills. Within one week Potatau achieved his goal of finding employment when he received a call from his future employer asking if he could start right away. Potatau was more than ready, willing and able to do so.
BUSY At Work’s Charlene Thomas, Youth Project Officer of Community Services said, “Potatau has shown exceptional commitment to the program and is progressing through the [course] workbook with confidence. BUSY At Work is supporting participants through providing them with tools necessary to manage life.”
Potatau, who soon hopes to transition into full-time employment, spoke of his experience so far with the R U BUSY? program.
“I have a higher understanding of values I uphold and how important it is to always seek support from people you know. I have learnt to always keep moving forward even when things aren’t going so great,” said Potatau.
Potatau’s resilient attitude and hope for the future, as well as the mentoring support provided by Busy Beat’s Youth Project Officers are responsible for turning this young man’s life around.
The R U BUSY? program is run each school semester and is available to 15-19 year olds. To find out more please call Busy Beat’s Southport office on (07) 5555 4700.
End
MEDIA CONTACT: Leanne Macnamara, Public Relations Coordinator, 0438 173 960 leanne.macnamara@busyatwork.com.au
