Chris

Chris came to our service in November 2020 wanting to gain his driver’s licence and to find a career pathway that was a great fit for him and not just any job he could get. Youth Options mentors supported Chris to complete his night time driving hours and to continue building his driving skills in readiness to sit a driving test. They also empowered Chris to identify that a career path in welding would be a great fit for him.

Over 14 months in our capacity building service, Chris built his driving skills, his welding skills, and his employability skills. Towards the end of this capacity building phase, his career development mentor also supported him to complete two work experiences, develop his job interview skills, and to sit two job interviews. During this time he also gained his driver’s licence, which is often a requirement of employment.

His career development mentor then provided transition support and empowered him to gain his first ever job, working full time at Saxon’s Engineering at Lonsdale as a non qualified welder. He received individualised support during his probation from Youth Options in partnership with his other NDIS supports. This approach paid off and he worked casually for Saxon’s for 9 months to support the company to meet a welding contract. Chris received outstanding feedback about the quality of his welding which was viewed as superior to colleagues at Saxon’s for some two decades!

After the casual employment ended with the fulfillment of the welding contract, Chris re-entered our career development services where we again empowered him to gain employment at Allin Towbars in November 2022, some two years after we began working with him. Since May 2023, Chris has been employed as a full time welder producing 4WD accessories. He is also undertaking an apprenticeship with them to gain a formal qualification in welding and to cement his place as an integral part of their team.

We are very proud of Chris and wish him the very best with his welding career.