EX- QNI REINVENTION
UNTIL March last year, working in a nickel refinery was the only career 48- year- old Ian Scott had ever known.
He was good at his job and was more than capable of providing for his wife and two teenage kids. But when QNI closed last year, Ian had to do something he had never done before – completely reinvent himself.
“All up I had worked for QNI for 30 years, with a short stint in another role 19 years ago. For the last three years I’d been working as a machinery operator. I always felt secure in my job until Clive Palmer bought the place,” said Ian.
When rumblings of a closure began to circulate, Ian began to question what his future would hold. “We started talking about things at home, knowing we’d have to tighten the belt because there was a good chance I was going to lose my job.”
It was a period of uncertainty and stress for Ian and his family, with little to no time to prepare for the worst. “When there was first talk of the plant shutting, I spoke to the bank to figure out my options and try to cover the mortgage.”
Soon after, Townsville’s worst nightmare began to unfold.
“The first lot of people were laid off from QNI in January. The rest of us went on the 11th of March. We were the last to go.
“It was a bad blow. I didn’t know what I was going to do. When I looked at my resume, the only thing I’d ever done was work in a nickel refinery.”
That’s when Ian started to think outside the square.
“Everyone was going for their truck licences to try to get out into the mines. I figured if there’s a few hundred people all going for those jobs, I need to look for something completely different.”
Ian did his research and immediately started investigating the industries in Townsville that were expanding, not shrinking.
“Initially I looked into aged care because that’s a growing industry. I just knew that if I wanted to increase my chances of employment, I needed to turn my career around and do something I’d never done before.”
It wasn’t long before Ian’s strategy paid off, and in July — after completing his Certificate 3 in Individual Support — he began a new career with Cootharinga, North Queensland’s largest disability support provider.
“When I first started, I didn’t know a lot about it. It was our trainer who told me that there weren’t a lot of males in aged care and disability and they need more men in support roles,” he said.
“I knew then that I was going in the right direction.”
In his new career, Ian quickly realised it was essential to adopt a positive outlook and an open mind from the get- go.
“Being positive and upbeat is really important when supporting people with a disability,” Ian said.
“There are days when you think, ‘ Oh wow, this is challenging.’ It’s not a job for everyone. But if you go into it with the mindset that you want to make a positive difference in somebody’s life and help them set goals and achieve those goals, then at the end of the day you go home feeling great about yourself knowing you’ve made a difference.”
Ian says he’s in it for the long haul. “There’s room to expand and grow in this career. There are lots of different areas in disability to move into.”
According to Peter Mewett, CEO of Cootharinga North Queensland, the start of the National Disability Insurance Scheme ( NDIS) in North Queensland has not only provided much needed support to North Queenslanders with a disability and their families. It has also opened up many new employment opportunities in Townsville and across the North.
“Since July 1 last year, in Cootharinga alone, we have increased our staff numbers by 50 in Townsville and 77 overall and our workforce now numbers 400, with some 270 in Townsville,” said Peter. “Like Ian, many of these new staff have forged entirely new careers for themselves in the disability support sector, bringing their skills and life experiences to their new roles supporting people with a disability and helping them to connect better with their community and to achieve life goals that before would have been unattainable.”
Peter said Ian was by no means an exception to the rule.
“The face of our workforce is changing rapidly and Ian is a representative of this evolution.”
Peter said that over the past 12 months, Cootharinga had employed people from all walks of life seeking a change, including solicitors, accountants and nurses, all of whom were looking for new challenges. “These people are looking for job satisfaction in what is generally considered a difficult job market, locally, and in what has traditionally been seen by many as a sector that you pass through as a worker, rather than making it your career.” In fact, Cootharinga has employed more than 120 new staff in Townsville alone in the past 18 months.
“Cootharinga proudly belongs to North Queensland,” said Peter.
“We are part of the social and economic fabric of the communities in which we work, play and spend our money. We continue to employ locally and are currently recruiting more staff to meet a growing demand for disability support.
“I encourage anyone who is looking to make a difference and to do something different to consider a career in the disability sector and with Cootharinga.”
As a man who has reinvented himself in a time of hardship and seized opportunities he never even knew existed, Ian Scott couldn’t agree more. “If you’ve got what it takes, if you’ve got the empathy and the positive outlook, the disability sector can offer you a great new career,” he said.