Skilled and ready to work after training
KODY Slattery is one of 12 trainees who, in just 18 weeks, launched himself out of unemployment and into a job.
In that short space of time, he discovered a love of painting and formed “lifelong” friendships.
Through the government-funded Skilling Queenslanders for Work program, participants worked on the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley Kart Club in Helidon to learn skills they could use in future employment.
Kody, 19, said he came across the opportunity while job hunting online.
“At that time I‘d been out of work for six months, so any job that was giving me income was what I wanted,” he said.
Having always worked in retail, Kody hadn’t ever considered learning a trade.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this but it was so much fun and I’ve loved it,” he said.
He said he had focused mostly on painting during the traineeship and had already secured a job.
DGT Employment and Training trainer Tim Hilton said many who embarked on the traineeships had begun with minimal skills.
“You have people with little skill come into it,” he said.
“A lot of people are generally nervous and don’t know a lot of the building terms but, towards the end, you really see a difference in their confidence.”
He said the goal of the 18 weeks was to land the trainees a job.
“That’s definitely what the training is centred on,” he said.
“To get them into the routine of having lunch at a certain time, the routine of having an income.”