Transforming homes and lives after the floods

Eleven young participants in Mission Australia’s Access Program – Plastering have taken our “transformation” philosophy to heart, making positive changes to their own lives while giving a Queensland household affected by the January floods a helping hand.

Access is a training program that provides long-term unemployed youth (among other job seekers) with the skills and motivation to gain apprenticeships.

The participants attended Bremer TAFE for four weeks, studying five units from the Solid Wall and Ceiling Plastering Qualification. They then had the chance to put their new knowledge to the test by spending a week working on a flood-affected house in the Ipswich suburb of Bundamba.

Mission Australia Australian Apprenticeships Access Program Placement Officer Leonie Doyle said this particular program was run to fill a local skills shortage in post-flood Queensland where many homes need to be gutted and relined.

Ms Doyle said she was bowled over by the enthusiasm shown by the young men – few of whom who had real work experience.

“When I first told them they were going to do a week of restoring a home, they were really excited and counted down the weeks and days until they started,” she said. “Once they were in the flood-affected community they were determined to do as much as they could.”

Working in small teams under the supervision of their trainers, over the course of a week the young men had fixed new lining boards to all walls and ceiling, and even relined the linen cupboard and pantry.

“The owners were most grateful – on the last day they told the boys they were moving their bed inside that night after spending months living in a caravan,” she said. “The sense of achievement and pride the boys felt was wonderful to see.”

Significantly, all the young men who began the course finished it – and four of the 11 participants have since started apprenticeships with group training company Apprenticeships Queensland and are now restoring homes in the Bundamba area.

Another three are expected to be signed up to apprenticeships this month. Congratulations to all 11 participants on a job well done.

Indigenous Employment Program provides independence and confidence

Nine graduates from a Mission Australia Employment Solutions pre-employment program in the Hunter Valley were recognised this week, at a ceremony to mark the completion of the course.

The graduates have just finished the pre-vocational element of Mission Australia’s Indigenous Employment Program (IEP), which offers indigenous Australians who are looking for work the opportunity to secure a job in the health care or social assistance industries.

The overall objective of IEP is to increase Indigenous Australians employment outcomes and participation in economic activities, contributing to the government's commitment to halving the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employment outcomes.

Upper Hunter Mission Australia Business Manager Maree Spokes said the aim was to help participants find a job and develop a career path in positions like nursing, aged and disability care work, residential support work or in the childcare industry.

“We provide four weeks of pre-employment training, which includes a five-day job readiness component and three weeks of industry specific pre-vocational training, as well as first aid training,” Ms Spokes said.

“We are now working with local employers and Mission Australia’s Australian Apprenticeship Centres to line up employment positions for our program participants.”

At Monday’s graduation, the participants were presented with certificates and cut a cake to celebrate the occasion.

Participant Julie Miles said before joining the program she had little motivation, but since completing the course she has gained independence and confidence.

New website for MA Employment Solutions

Mission Australia Employment Solutions recently launched a new website featuring information on our employment programs and site locations, as well as downloadable brochures, fact sheets and tips for job seekers.

Mission Australia is one of Australia's largest providers of Job Services Australia, Australian Apprenticeships and the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme. We have been providing employment services for some 33 years, and operates from close to 150 locations across Australia, with representation in every state and territory.

The new website also includes online forms to allow employer customers to lodge job vacancies, and job seekers to apply for the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme or National Green Jobs Corps programs.

"We've rebuilt the new site from the ground up to help improve the overall visitor experience," said Anthony Rumble, National Marketing and Communication Manager for Employment Solutions.

"Visitors will now find easier access to site locations and contact details, and can also download copies of the current brochure and fact sheet materials.

"Over the next few months, we'll continue to roll out new resources and features, such as newsletter subscriptions, access to downloadable resume and cover letter templates, and articles and advice covering a range of employment topics."

To see the new website, visit www.employmentsolutions.com.au. While you're there, please take the time to let us know what you think.

Charcoal Lane Trainee wins Apprenticeships Plus Award

Congratulations to Charcoal Lane’s Marley Kennedy on winning the Apprenticeships Plus Monthly Apprentice/Trainee Award for March.

The trainee was recognised by Charcoal Lane’s partnered training provider for “outstanding achievement”, particularly during Charcoal Lane’s Taste of Reconciliation Lunch Bridge Lunch early in March – an open-air dining experience on Melbourne’s Sandridge Bridge that showcased the restaurant’s modern native menu and promoted reconciliation.

The Certificate III Hospitality trainee arrived at Sandridge Bridge early on the Sunday to help set up the event for 150 guests after working a late shift at Charcoal Lane the night before. During the lunch she impressed Aboriginal elders and other diners with her knowledge and hospitality skills, and stayed on to clean up.

It was a long and hot day, with many of the usual “hospitality frustrations”, but Marley played a real leadership role in keeping her colleagues cheery and positive until the end.

In recent months Marley has been something of a spokesperson for Charcoal Lane and Apprenticeships Plus, being interviewed in The Melbourne Times and on Indigenous TV station NITV to encourage other young Aboriginal people to reach their potential.

In the newspaper article Marley spoke of the positive impact Charcoal Lane has had on her life:

"I wanted to connect with the Indigenous side of it all, to be able to pass on my knowledge about our culture and food to others," she said. "I feel like I'm embracing a positive outlook. I have cousins up in Albury who look at me and see that if I can do it, they can do it.”

Charcoal Lane Program Coordinator Stephanie Simson said Marley was a very worthy recipient of the Monthly Apprenticeship/Trainee award.

“Marley is doing fabulously and is looking at a work experience placement at the Mercure Hotel in the city,“ said Stephanie.

“Apprenticeships Plus employs more than 500 apprentices and trainees, so she had plenty of competition. We’re very proud of her!”

Charcoal Lane trainees and apprentices are part of an integrated program that includes personal skills development and accredited education (Certificate II and III in Hospitality),
with the aim of transiting to sustainable employment.

Specialising in modern cuisine infused with native flavours, the restaurant has built up a reputation for quality since opening in July 2009 and featured in The Age Good Food Guide 2010.

Charcoal Lane is at 136 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, and opens from Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 10.30pm. To book call (03) 9418 3400 or email eat@charcoallane.com.au

Visit Mission Australia's Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island resources page for our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), the latest indigenous news, current affairs and policy updates.

Long-term unemployment rises: ABS

The percentage of long-term unemployed people (unemployed for one year or more) rose from 16 per cent in July 2009 to 18 per cent in July 2010, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this week.

For long-term unemployed people the most common main difficulty in finding a job was '”too many applicants for available jobs'” (14 per cent), followed by “too far to travel/transport problems” (13 per cent) and “own health or disability” (13 per cent).

However, the majority (82 per cent) of unemployed people are short-term unemployed (that is, they have been unemployed for less than one year), with one in four having been unemployed for less than four weeks.

Of those people who had been unemployed for under eight weeks, 20 per cent reported “no difficulties at all” in finding new work and the most common main difficulty reported was “too many applicants for available jobs” (13 per cent).

According to the ABS, for young people aged 15 to 24 years, the main difficulty in finding work was “insufficient work experience” (17 per cent), while for those aged 45 years and over it was “considered too old by employers” (17 per cent).

Of all unemployed people, 21 per cent had never worked before and 17 per cent had worked, but not in the past two years.

Last year Mission Australia worked with more than 154,000 Australian jobseekers, helping them to find and maintain sustainable employment.

Mission Australia Employment Solutions operates eight Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations programs nationwide - including Job Services Australia and Apprenticeship Solutions. Our challenge is to prevent more Australians from getting caught up in the long-term cycle of unemployment.

Charcoal Lane featured in The Age's (Melbourne) Magazine

Charcoal Lane, Mission Australia's social enterprise restaurant in Melbourne's Fitzroy, has featured in The Age's award-winning (Melbourne) Magazine.

Charcoal Lane is a unique new restaurant that embodies the theme of indigenous cooking in a modern setting.  The menu blends international cooking with indigenous ingredients, with items such as salmon wildfire terrine with desert limes and crème fraiche, or kangaroo fillet with rosella flower jus - view the menu here.

While boasting the innovative menu, the restaurant employs up to 32 apprentices and trainees, who are mainly of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island descent.  The social enterprise aims to help disadvantaged young people acheive their life goals through education, training and teamwork.

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Learn more about this unique social enterprise at the new Charcoal Lane website:  www.charcoallane.com.au

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