Bridge Housing's Bridge to Work Program is putting tenants into jobs and helping them to fulfill their employment dreams. pdf Read the program evaluation report (1.90 MB) . Read some of their stories.
Ash
Ash has a new role as an Uber driver, thanks to the Bridge to Work program. Wsupported Ash to negotiate part-time hours and exploring training options to help him realise his employment goal after years of unemployment.
Karleen
Karleen came to the Bridge To Work program wanting to work in community services in an educational role and give back to her community. We helped to revise her resume and support her to apply within her local community. She found a job with Tribal Warriors Cultural Cruises teaching cruise guests traditional Indigenous painting and weaving
Karleen starred in our Change the Story video released recently.
Mick
When Mick landed casual work in the recycling industry, any job was welcome after a significant period of unemployment. Yet he quickly proved himself a reliable, hard worker and was offered a full-time permanent position as a valued member of the team.
Bridge Housing’s Bridge to Work employment program helped our resident prepare for the workforce after completing a TAFE course in Community Support. We worked with him to develop a recent relevant resume and cover letter, and to set up his online profile so he could apply for jobs through SEEK and other employment search engines.
Mick says he’s been able to get on top of his finances, is happy to be engaged in the workforce, is enjoying the physical work and the company culture and camaraderie of his workmates.
Rimal
Rimal registered with our Bridge to Work while he was finishing off his full-time study in Aviation Management and wanted to find some part time employment within the industry after he finished his studies. He did not have any relevant work experience in Australia but he had a good attitude and professional approach to his employment search.
We helped Rimal rewrite his resume to reflect his current education and relevant volunteer experience with Bridge Housing and began to apply for entrance level roles within the aviation industry.
Having identified Qantas as one of the larger airlines in which he could begin a baggage handler role, Rimal successfully applied to Qantas Ground Services.
Rimal is happy to be employed with a large aviation organisation and beginning to build his Australian work experience. The Bridge To Work program helped him find to find a role that will lead to bigger and more relevant employment down the road.
Thomas
Thomas was recently made redundant at his work due to circumstances beyond his control and applied to join the Bridge to Work program. He hoped to find permanent part-time work in the community services field, specifically working with youth. This aligned closely with his professional studies and his desire to help others.
Tom applied for a variety of roles, despite not meeting an essential criteria for many: a driver’s license. Through Weave and its Driving Change Program for young people we succeeded in securing free driving lessons for Tom. He then landed a part-time role as a Residential Care Worker with St Laurence House.
Tom said: “My time with the Bridge to Work program made a very positive impact on my life. I was consistently reassured that I would attain the goals I had set out for myself and I was supported through every step of the way.”
“I was also relieved of much of the financial stress in my life due to the program’s ‘rent freeze’ policy, which allowed me to think with a clearer head and pursue my goals free from the burden of financial hardship."
Cholok
Cholok is a Bridge Housing tenant who joined the Bridge to Work program in July 2018. She had recently migrated to Australia from Sudan and was looking to find part time employment.
After consultation and review of her work history, we decided to approach an employer with whom she had previously worked on a contract basis. She successfully negotiated another three-month contract with LUSH Cosmetics, working in the production warehouse with an option to extend to six months.
She is very happy to have found employment with them again and we hope to help her secure a permanent role as we support her in her contract.
Cholok is very personable and diligent in her work and is looking to possibly become a supervisor during her new placement as she brings with her experience and expertise from her role last year. Cholok has great potential, and with ongoing coaching and mentoring through her contract, we are hopeful that LUSH will provide her with a permanent position.