Pat and APM Employment Services transcript

My name is Patrick. I'm a gym junkie and a footie fanatic. I’ve got an intellectual disability so I can't drive or work full time. So part-time is my main option for work. My structure was just doing nothing. I wanted to get into the workforce and start earning a bit of income for me. I went to APM and started looking for a job, and they kind of help me get what I wanted and was suitable what my needs were.

So Pat came into the Warragul office around about 10 to 11 years ago wanting a job. He wanted some Independence. He wanted some assistance to find a job. He didn't know where to start. We realised that his confidence was very low, so we worked with him to build his confidence, build his ability to be able to approach employers, did some mock interviews, and I actually took him to employers with me so I could introduce Pat, as Pat is such a character and a lovable character at that. When he first started at the country club, we started him off very slight. So he was grabbing glasses and we had a lot of spillages. We had a lot of things like that. We migrated from there up to the cafe where he was delivering coffees. Then once he sort of mastered that, we put him into the bistro. So the progression that we've seen with Pat moving from when he first started there to now, is amazing.

Patrick Works in our Bistro with our team, and uh Patrick takes meals to the tables, clears the tables. Has a chat. Always has a chat. Customers absolutely love him. And he's a big part of our team. And we would be not quite the same without him, if we didn't have Pat with us having.

Having the structure has definitely made a big difference to his growth as a person. It’s just giving him confidence generally. And he's met so many people. When we're out and about, he's saying hello to people that we've got no idea who they are. So that's amazing. Everybody knows Pat around town.

A few of my gym guys I work with go to gym too. They see me in the gym and we talk and they’ve been supportive since I started there which is unreal. So I do weights and I've got a coach, a personal trainer coach. I just love going to working out with mates and having fun and working up a sweat.

The disability doesn't define Patrick, Patrick is Patrick. And we love him for who he is. We measure what Patrick can do and can't do and we work to his strengths. And we try and help him with his weaknesses, which is, I think, all of us, not just Patrick.

I think APM have done very well in putting Patrick in this environment because there's so many facets to the hospitality industry. Whether it's bar, whether it's bistro, whether it's café. So he also learn skills, different skills, by being moved around in the establishment.

I'm working in the bistro now. It's more changing being in the bistro, but I love that challenge. I love the fast pace, getting the food out the customers and just going full throttle and just enjoying having fun. From where I started to now, it's incredible. I couldn’t have done it without the support of APM. To be able to be still working here ten years later, it's a big achievement.