Kate and Ben's story: New opportunities

The first graduates in the Indigenous Employment Program at Wesley Vocational Institute Port Macquarie are already getting results. Their training in aged care is making the most of opportunities in the booming aged care industry on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales.

Garry Adams, Wesley Vocational Institute’s Regional Operations Coordinator, said that Wesley Vocational Institute had a good record for matching job seekers with local job opportunities.

“With a lot of people retiring to the Mid North Coast, there are a lot of opportunities in aged care. We want to help people prepare for those opportunities,” he said.

Kate*, who was one of the first students to graduate, found employment even before the course finished.

“This was a fun course that covered everything we needed to know,” she said.

Another student, Ben*, has found some strong employment leads. He said he was a bit daunted before starting because he had never passed a course before. Ben said the group learning in the course made it much easier.

“Our trainer, Michelle, gave us a lot of support. She provided us with references and will call employers on our behalf,” he said.

* Names have been changed due to privacy reasons.