Zeke turns love of gaming into a seriously good job

When Zeke arrived at APM Deception Bay, he’d never had a job before, but was hoping to find a casual position in retail to help him through his studies. 

Little did he know that hours spent gaming were the perfect training for his new career in retail.

The first important step Zeke took was to join APM’s Transition to Work program, which helps young people aged 15-24 into employment, apprenticeships, or education. 

Here, he worked closely with the team to get a better understanding of his goals and aspirations, and began interview prep sessions with his APM Industry Consultant, Andrew.

But it was when he mentioned to his Youth Support Worker, Paige, that he loved gaming that things began to change.

Paige keeps in close contact with local employers, supporting them in finding new talent and staying up-to-date with who’s hiring. 

One of the employers she had worked with was EB Games, conducting ‘speed interview sessions’ wth local participants. 

When EB Games wanted to hire some new staff, they went straight to Paige.

Paige took this chance to put forward Zeke for the role, knowing he’d be an ideal candidate. 

He had a great interview, and Zeke was offered his very first job as a Sales Associate at EB Games.

All the training paid off. 

“Attending one of the sessions with Andrew helped prepare me for what to expect when going into an interview, as well as some tips on how I should act during the interview,” Zeke shared.

But APM’s help didn’t stop there. Paige supported Zeke through the onboarding process and continued to check in with him. 

APM even bought him some new work shoes to make sure Zeke was comfortable in those long shifts on his feet.

Going from no work experience to completing six months of employment has been a huge achievement for Zeke. 

Today, he is happy, more confident, and is looking forward to a bright future with a bit of spare time for gaming, which we can now call ‘professional development’.