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Barista Jacqueline Overcomes Barriers to Employment with AimBig

For the 1 in every 5 Australians that suffer from mental illness, it can be hard to complete everyday tasks and maintain activities that are part of daily living. On top of this, the stress of finding and maintaining employment can contribute to a negative state of mind and reduced confidence, leaving a large amount of our population unable to secure work.

At AimBig, our participant’s mental health and wellbeing is a priority, whereby our service offering includes not only finding our participants work, but ensuring they are prepared mentally, emotionally and physically to take on new employment.

A participant that has seen great improvements in their mental health and wellbeing and has found employment with AimBig is Jacqueline, a job seeker living in Burleigh Heads.

Jacqueline was diagnosed with Anxiety and Depression and hadn’t worked for over 5 years due to the challenges associated with her mental illness. For people living with Anxiety and Depression, this can include feeling overwhelmed by everyday tasks such as getting out of bed, self-care, and household chores.

On top of this, Jacqueline was extremely nervous about going back to work after a break in employment, which caused concerns as she lacked the confidence to seek work.

After Jacqueline came to AimBig, she was paired with her Job Coach Heidi Bevege, a passionate and dedicated AimBig member in the Burleigh Head’s office. Heidi has worked with a number of participants of different backgrounds and disabilities to secure them work and has a fantastic rapport amongst participants for her supportive nature.

Prior to finding Jacqueline employment, Heidi discussed strengths, skills, and interests to determine what kind of short- and long-term goals Jacqueline wanted to achieve, both in employment and in her personal life. Jacqueline and Heidi then worked together to set up ways to achieve these goals. She was also able to support Jacqueline by discussing her concerns about her disability being a barrier to employment, where they were able to work together to put together some strategies to overcome these challenges.

Heidi and Jacqueline then collaborated to identify potential career options, where Jacqueline expressed an interest in the hospitality industry. Heidi was able to utilise her local community connections to reach out to employers in the Surfers Paradise area to market Jacqueline as a job ready candidate.

This is when Raman, owner of Sunshine Bean Café, expressed his interest in getting Jacqueline in for an interview. She was successful in securing work as a Barista and Waitress at the café.

We spoke to Heidi about how Jacqueline is settling into her role at the café.

“Jacqueline is really loving her new job and is so glad to have overcome her challenges in finding employment. She loves that her employers are understanding of her disability and are supportive of her mental health and wellbeing.

Her confidence has improved since our first meeting where we looked at her goals, and she is truly flourishing. I’ve spoken to Raman and he couldn’t be happier with her as an employee, noting that she’s proactive and always gets the job done. He also commented that her work ethic is outstanding and she’s a high performer!

I’m very proud of her and the progress she’s made.”

For many job seekers living with mental health issues such as Anxiety and Depression, employment can seem impossible to seek out and maintain. At AimBig, we have over 20 years of experience in finding job seekers meaningful work and are motivated by clients such as Jacqueline to provide outstanding services to people of all abilities.

Jacqueline (left) and Heidi (right) at Sunshine Bean Cafe

 

Looking for a DES provider that understands your unique needs, skills and passions to find you meaningful employment? Talk to our friendly staff today: https://www.aimbigemployment.com.au/job-seekers/jobseeker-contact/

Looking to recruit hard-working, passionate staff with a managed disability? Get in touch with us today: https://www.aimbigemployment.com.au/employers/

 

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