It started out like any other typical Monday at work for Acacia, until it was just about time to clock off for the day. At around 4.30pm - right as she was supposed to finish - Acacia was told that she couldn't come back to work and that her services were no longer required. She felt very lost and subsequently experienced bouts of depression as a result of not just loosing her job, but loosing a sense of purpose in her days. 

"Losing your job is horrible and it is the worst feeling, especially when it is completely unexpected. Not many places are hiring, and if they are then hundreds of people are applying for the exact same jobs."

Deep down though, Acacia knew there was an engrained sense of resilience within her that she needed to draw upon to pick back up. She visited her local Centrelink to sign up for support and was later linked with a youth employment specialist service that frequented her local area - Youth Projects.

After meeting Acacia and spending some time with her, it became apparent that this young lady had hit a bit of a crossroads, an intersect of what she had always known but wasn't too sure where or how to go about it. She is a talented and articulate young woman who was eager to help other young people - just like her - to overcome barriers and succeed in life.

We linked her into our Community Traineeship Pilot Program to give her an opportunity to gain skills and knowledge of the community services sector - the kind of work that fit perfectly to her passion for helping other young people. The traineeship provided her a platform to grow and pave her way to a new success. 

This pilot program requires a young person to commit to a full time, paid traineeship over a 12-month period which sees participants complete a Certificate IV in Community Services through a TAFE provider whilst work 4 days with a host organisation. In Acacia's case, she was able to do her work experience right here at Youth Projects.

Acacia absolutely shone during her work placement - so much so that she applied for and successfully obtained a role as a Community Services Officer at Youth Projects.

"In terms of social and financial situations, a job is one of the most important things that you can have."

Acacia is now a proud member of the Youth Projects family and is hoping to complete a Diploma in Youth Work as part of her journey to help support other young people to find jobs or study things that they are really passionate about reach a successful outcome, just like she did.

Although the current job market seems really scary at the moment, Acacia knows all too well that when met with a challenge, use this as an opportunity to focus on your dream job or career path and grow within yourself. 

"Losing your job is horrible and it is the worst feeling, especially when it is completely unexpected. Not many places are hiring, and if they are then hundreds of people are applying for the exact same jobs. If this is your situation, try to focus on exploring your dream job or career path and seek out ways to achieve it! If that means you need a certificate or a license, use this time at home to look up all the ways to do so. Write down the steps you need to take to get it and use this time wisely to grow within yourself."

You can find out more about Acacia's story by watching this video:

If you are young person who has recently lost your job or had your hours significantly reduced and need support, please contact us to find out how we might be able to help you work towards meaningful employment or training options.