Mackay local Darien Andrews is positive proof that being a participant in a Working for the Dole (WfD) program can be a meaningful and life changing experience.
The 21 year old signed up for a Work for the Dole activity at the Pioneer Tennis Club in September last year and is relishing the opportunity to learn new business skills in an office environment.
BUSY At Work, Work for the Dole Coordinator, Kristy Gostelow said Darien had performed so well at the club that he was offered a traineeship on 30 January this year and is now studying for his Certificate III in Business.
“The Pioneer Tennis Club is a not-for-profit organisation and was not able to provide the resources needed to keep up with the day-to-day running of the office.”
“They needed an administration assistant and Darien started in this WfD role working 25 hours per week,” Ms Gostelow said.
Throughout the program Darien assisted in general office tasks including data entry, membership updates, basic letter writing, liaison with members and promotion of the club through social media and their website.
“The club were very pleased with Darien’s work ethic and with the support of local jobactive Community Solutions; we were delighted to sign Darien up to his traineeship.”
“This is what Work for the Dole is all about. Without the program Darien would never have been in the position to discover what he loves to do and the tennis club would not have had a trainee signed up.”
“This is a win win situation for the club and for Darien as well,” Ms Gostelow said.
Darien’s supervisor Steve Merker said Darien showed a lot of potential right from the start.
“He is a fast learner, always on time and always willing to learn more. He has been able to assist with the running of our competitions and is a great go-between person with the club’s members,” Mr Merker said.
Darien said the past four months had been very rewarding and had given him a really good overview of what administration work was all about.
“I’ve always been a fairly shy person and because of this found it difficult to get work in the past.”
“Working with other people has helped build my confidence and I would like to get a full time career in administration in the future,” Mr Andrews said.
BUSY At Work CEO, Paul Miles said BUSY was delighted to see Darien performing well in his traineeship.
“We are pleased to be an active participant in this latest Work for the Dole initiative which has not only provided a real employment outcome for Darien but has also helped benefit the local community.”
“We congratulate Darien on his success and are keen to work with other local organisations to provide real job prospects for disadvantaged job seekers,” Mr. Miles said.
The WfD program is an initiative of the Australian Government and administered by the Department of Employment.
BUSY At Work is the WfD Coordinator for the Mackay Employment Region.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Leanne Macnamara, Public Relations Coordinator 0438 173 960 leanne.macnamara@busyatwork.com.au
