AUSTRALIA
A North Queensland employment program is recording overwhelming success at giving young people the confidence to enter the workforce.
The Workfit program, which has been run for the past year by the Bowen PCYC, works with participants aged 15 to 24, some who initially say they have "no strengths" or "no idea what their goals are".
Organisers say around 95 per cent of participants who have completed the state government-funded program have either gained employment or are volunteering for a not-for-profit organisation.
All participants who had stopped going to school are back in the classroom, and nearly 40 per cent of participants came from an Indigenous background.
Skills to get into the workforce
Beau Ayles, aged 17, graduated from Bowen State High School last year. He has always wanted to become a chef, but didn't know how to get there. "I had no idea, I was stuck, I was stressed, nothing to do, just sitting at home bored every day," he said.
He heard about Workfit offered at the local PCYC and thought he would try it out. "They said it was voluntary, so I thought I would give it a go and it's been a great experience really," he said. "I was expecting it to be more like a classroom, like sitting down, doing book work, and stuff like that, but we've been out at the job places and just getting the experience. It's made me more confident to get out there, go talk to people, try and get a new job, hopefully try and get into the hospitality industry."
Beau said while he did not understand every part of how to become a chef, Workfit had given him the motivation to enter the workforce.
"I'm not trying to open up my own place, I'm just trying to get a job and something to do," he said. "I'll write down every single job that's in the hospitality industry and I'd just go through and tick them all off and see if I can get the position and, yeah, just give it all a go."
Difference in confidence 'amazing'
The program runs two days a week over six to eight weeks, with four cycles completed so far.
The current round of government funding has finished and the PCYC is in the process of applying for another 12 months of funding.
Program facilitator Madonna McLeod said the difference in the participants' confidence was "amazing".
"At the start of the program probably 99 per cent of the participants told us they were no good at anything, they had no strengths, they were very quick to give weaknesses, they very much lacked confidence and self-esteem, and goals seemed completely unachievable, so they had no idea what their goals were," she said.
"One was so shy that on interview they would start to cry, they would start to get a red rash around their neck, they were absolutely in breakdown. This young fella has now gone on to be a personal carer for Bluecare and was able to get through an interview process, was able to have that confidence, where he would then be able to go out in the community and start working with people, so that was a huge achievement.
"When we re-touch on their strengths and their goals quite often they now have three or four major goals rather than none, and now they've got strengths that they can easily list."
Strong community ties are key
Ms McLeod said Bowen's strong community ties were key to the program's success.
"This program would not have been successful if it wasn't for the community," she said. "Every day we have different presenters, different workshop facilitators, from all walks of life, all different community sectors, whether they're a police officer, an ambulance officer, an electrician, a pub manager, to people who are running the SES, and the mayor."
Hire for attitude and train for skill
Many students are introduced to work in the horticulture field, which is a major industry in Bowen.
Bowen-based agronomist Chris Monsour invited some Workfit participants to his business to learn more about horticulture production, and has even employed some of them part time.
"It's very much about giving them the feeling that there are people who care for their wellbeing and are willing to foster their development if they show an interest," he said. "What we've seen is a lot of people, particularly if they're working in a group of their peers collectively to achieve an outcome, that it has massive ramifications of how they feel about dealing with other aspects of their life.
"Our policy is we hire for attitude and train for skill. They don't have to know everything, or anything even, but if they show an interest and they work hard and they turn up and they ask questions, we're more than willing to help them to get some work."
By Sophie Meixner
11 April 2017
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-11/bowen-youth-employment-workfit-success-workforce/8379234
