For the past ten years, Mark had worked as a consultant for various industries, supporting their training, managerial or coaching needs, but unfortunately found himself out of work in late 2022. After applying for many roles in the public administration and safety sector but without success, Mark was beginning to lose hope.
Mark stated, “I had recently finished in a couple of senior roles in education and was looking to change direction. I had applied for around 50 roles and had several interviews, missing out on all. I was starting to question my capabilities and my confidence had taken a hit. The application merry go round became a grind and I started to wonder if I was ‘past it’?
“I got to the point where I began to think I was almost unemployable and maybe needed to retrain. I saw a post about the Skills Checkpoint program on LinkedIn and became intrigued by what was on offer. I don’t feel old but came to the realisation that I was an ‘older worker’. The offer of subsidised training was appealing as I’d been out of work for a few months and dollars were tightening up, so that was a motivator.”
With the skills shortage that has been affecting Australian industry for many years now, the Skills Checkpoint program’s aim is to ensure mature-aged workers, with their experience and skills, continue to contribute to the workforce.
Delivered by BUSY At Work throughout Australia, the program offers a comprehensive career assessment and one-on-one career mentoring support with a career advisor. If required by the participant, access to a co-contribution amount of up to $2,200 towards relevant training to upskill or reskill is also offered.
Mark realised that to move forward in his career, he may require further training to support his goals. One of his previous interviews had provided feedback that he needed more leadership and management experience.
“I had been working in project management with no recent professional development undertaken, and a couple of institutions were offering short courses in Project Management and Change. Both met funding criteria and budget, so I enrolled. The course choices helped me revise my CV, update language, and restore confidence in what I had accomplished over the last 5-10 years.”
With his confidence restored and his skills sharpened, Mark had several further interviews before recently landing a job as a Manager of Youth Justice Education Programs. Mark believes his career advisor and the Skills Checkpoint program supported him to move forward in his career.
“Robyn (my career advisor) was great! We had a couple of great chats, she showed great empathy and knowledge and unpacked my results from the psychometric testing in a manner that helped me, in essence, stop feeling sorry for myself – it got me back on the horse. She kindly listened to my ‘drama’ and basically had me cut out the nonsense in an empowering way. Robyn was invested in my success.
“I am highly educated and have invested in myself over the last 30 years, seeking to learn and grow. I got myself into a routine that became comfortable, and I became a little complacent. When I got rattled and allowed myself to believe that I may have run my race, the opportunity to have an independent person/organisation look at me without bias was an opportunity too good to refuse. If ever there was an opportunity to invest in yourself with subsidised training, I couldn’t make a more glowing testimonial for Skills Checkpoint! It’s okay to get help when you need it.”
LEARN MORE about the Skills Checkpoint for Older Workers program.
