Wanting to make a change
51-year-old Boban was going through a difficult period of unemployment and began avoiding contact with the outside world as much as possible.
This left him with low confidence, and he froze up during interviews.
In an effort to change his circumstances, Boban visited the APM Elizabeth office in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
Shortly after meeting employment consultant Jamie, Boban was given the opportunity to participate in the Career Transition Assistance (CTA) program, part of Workforce Australia, through APM Employment Services.
The Career Transition Assistance program helps participants aged 45 years and over build their skills and confidence to become more competitive in their local labour market.
Facilitated by APM, each course runs for 75 hours between 3 and 8 weeks and is delivered both online and face to face.
CTA Facilitator Monique embraced Boban with open arms, giving him the space to be himself.
“When Boban first started, he wasn’t in a very nice headspace and he suffered with low confidence and low self-esteem and low motivation” Monique recalls.
“He was very embarrassed of the fact he wasn’t employed. So the CTA program helped him go through and helped him regain some of his confidence.”
Growth and success
"I liked coming here," Boban said.
"We all got along like a family, basically – everyone got along."
Monique recalls that Boban was incredibly switched-on from the beginning of his journey within the program.
All he required was a push in the right direction.
With a team of APM staff backing him, Boban took his passion for food to the next level and enrolled in a Certificate III in Food Processing.
Facilitator Monique says that APM’s CTA program is never a one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s why participants like Boban can thrive.
"Monique helped me a lot with my confidence, with my resume, my cover letter" Boban said.
“It gave me a sense of purpose, it made me want to go somewhere and not always be home sitting in front of a TV feeling down about myself feeling sorry for myself.”
Employment consultant Jamie helped Boban access funding to assist with transport costs and help him work towards his driver’s licence, which will help him secure employment.
Boban had completed a number of employment programs before he approached APM, but Monique noticed a shift in him when they worked together.
“During the program, he realised it was a lot more than what it was on the outside. It had a lot to do with self-growth” Monique said.
Boban recently completed his qualification and has now embarked on his job search journey, with dreams of ultimately opening his own pub or becoming a hospitality facilitator.
Whilst acknowledging that his journey is far from over, Boban is proud of the progress he has made.