Lucy is motoring down the road to a career in the childcare industry after gaining the confidence to get her driver’s licence with The Disability Trust’s Next Step program.
Being a young jobseeker can be hard work and Next Step Facilitator Madalyn Workman is part of The Disability Trust’s employment team in the Hunter who help people in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie or the Central Coast in their employment journey.
She tailored an employment program to help Lucy work toward her goal of completing her childcare studies at TAFE.
The key to Lucy being able to gain her certificate in childcare is being able to get to and from classes and with Madalyn’s help, she now has her driver’s licence.
“I’ve always loved working with kids and growing up in my home street, there used to be lots of kids younger than me, and I just had a knack for looking after them,” Lucy said.
“Looking after kids younger than me, it’s just been my thing so that’s why I’ve always wanted to pursue this profession, because I feel like it’s the perfect niche for me to do.”
After a couple of near-misses, Lucy was thrilled to get her licence.
“It made me feel ecstatic, because I thought it would take me at least 10 more tries before I would pass. I didn’t do well the first two times, but the third time is the charm,” she added.
Lucy she now had a greater level of independence and the Next Step program had given her a “stepping stone to be my own person and not rely on others”.
“Working with Maddy has been a great experience. Because of her, I felt confidence I never thought I would get to go for my licence,” Lucy said.
“Because of Maddy’s undeniable support and assistance and helping me, I’ve passed my licence, and hopefully I can do more things with Maddy by my side in the future.
“The Next Step program is such an easy process and it’s so smooth. It’s one-on-one, and it’s not at all pressuring. It’s easy to work through and it just helps you go at your own pace.”
Madalyn was proud of how far Lucy has come in just a short time.
“I love working with people on their personal goals. It has been great working with Lucy the past few months and I love that I was able to be a part of her journey and helping her get her licence, and with TAFE,” Madalyn said.
“Having a job is something many people take for granted and for others it’s not so easy. I think the most important part of my role is to help build people’s self-confidence and self-belief, to help them find meaningful employment.
“I have seen such a positive change in Lucy already, getting her licence, studying at TAFE and doing work placement at a childcare has really given her the confidence to achieve her goals.”
