Meet Andrew. Andrew came to OCTEC in June 2019 with a list of qualifications in business and marketing. He also had volunteer experience in video editing, administration, kitchen hand and customer service in a book store.
Andrew had been looking for ongoing employment but with no success. He had the skills and work experience but Andrew couldn’t find a job that understood him and his disability.
With the help of his OCTEC career consultant Stacey, they sat down and worked through his employment goals, his skills and qualifications, work experience and what sort of job would be a great fit.
An important point that Andrew wanted any potential employers to know is that he deals with anxiety, depression, attention deficit and autism spectrum disorder. Andrew had been trying to deal with his anxiety by travelling on public transport. He was travelling into Sydney to do volunteer work but had experienced a panic attack and had to leave early.
Stacey sat down with Andrew and discussed the option of finding a job closer to home. They looked around the Central Coast so Andrew didn’t have to worry about long distance travelling on public transport.
An opportunity
Another OCTEC career consultant told Stacey about a position of marketing and sales support officer that was available with a local Gosford business, Marine Protection Systems.
Stacey saw straight away that Andrew’s skills, qualifications and experience fit perfectly with the desirable skillset needed for the role.
Stacey made contact with Marine Protection Systems. She told them about Andrew and how she believed his skills, qualifications, experience and personality were a perfect fit for their business. Andrew wanted to ensure that they knew about his disability and ensured that Stacey mentioned this.
Jessica and Brian were very excited to meet Andrew and with Stacey, made the interview a ‘meet and greet’ in their office to ensure that Andrew felt relaxed and comfortable in the environment.
Andrew’s career consultant Stacey, gave Andrew a copy of the job description a few days before the meeting so he could familiarise himself with the duties of the role and could ask informed questions when he met with Jessica and Brian. Stacey wanted Andrew to look the part for his meeting and organised on behalf of OCTEC, business pants and shirt.
Andrew blew Jessica and Brian away with his skillset and how well suited he was to the role they had on offer. They offered Andrew the job and Stacey could see how well they had hit it off from their first meeting.
Andrew commenced employment on the 9th March 2020
After commencing employment
OCTEC consultants ensure support is ongoing, even when a client has started employment. It was important to make sure that Andrew was enjoying the job, the staff and getting support.
The weekly feedback from both Andrew and Marine Protection Systems were constantly positive. One of the biggest points that Stacey could see was Andrew’s growth both professionally and socially.
Andrew was able to contact Stacey a few months after commencing employment and ask if he was able to gain assistance in purchasing an E-bike to get to and from work. Andrew was currently being driven by his parents and was becoming an issue. He wanted to find an alternative to public transport.
OCTEC provided funds for the purchase of a Leitner E-bike and Andrew picked it up from the OCTEC Gosford office. He was now able to independently get to and from work and feel confident in doing so.
Andrew also told his career consultant recently.
“When I came to OCTEC, aside from some assistant editing video work I’d done, I hadn’t had a job in 10 years. My job and the E-Bike are just fantastic”.
Andrew’s grandmother states to anyone who will listen “COVID-19 made lots of people lose their jobs BUT Andrew got one”.