AimBig Drives the Sarina Community to be WorkReady
Following the incredible success of the AimBig Work Ready Showcase in Roma, the Sarina team took a fresh approach to engaging employers and job seekers to find roles. Sarina was identified as an opportunity with many large employers in the region struggling to source suitable job applicants and fill their vacancies.
When visiting HR Manager, Robert Hull from Borthwick’s in Baker’s Creek, expressed that he desperately seeking multiple staff. He joked “I wish someone could just bus out a whole heap of job seekers to me”. The AimBig team, never shying away from a challenge, arranged for a bus of 10 job ready participants to be driven to meet 3 great employers in Mackay and Sarina that were looking for staff on Tuesday June 25th..
Starting with Landcare in Sarina, Field Manager, Rodney provided the participants a tour of the plant nursery and conservation area. Participants learnt about native plants in the area and were able to see a native beehive live in action. The AimBig Mackay team have been working with Landcare and the Pioneer Catchment for several months this year through the Work for the Dole Project. Landcare has multiple field officer roles available and after such a positive relationship with AimBig already, they were eager to fill the vacancies with AimBig participants. After learning about the roles available on the day, and the recruitment process, several participants have applied and are awaiting formal interviews which is a fantastic result for everyone involved.
Next on the itinerary was Borthwick’s, the largest employer we visited on the day. HR Manager, Robert completed a full site induction with the participants and completed informal pre-screen interviews. Participants learnt about the history of Borthwick’s and the full manufacturing process from farm to table. Robert went through Workplace Health and Safety standards and the rules of Halal butchery. This was both eye opening and a great learning experience for all. After being inducted, participants were invited to complete a site tour of the facilities and were able to observe work in progress and the various roles and duties available at Borthwick’s live in action.
Thomas Borthwicks has a long history in Mackay as a large employer and its central location between both Mackay and Sarina makes it an optimal employer for many participants. After completing the tour, Robert confirmed he was willing to employ every applicant on the condition of a successful medical and reference checks. Participants are now working through the final recruitment stages with Robert.
The last stop for the day was the Incredable Tip Shop at Paget. AimBig has been working with Tammy from the Incredable Tip Shop for several years now through the Work for the Dole Program. After having built a strong relationship with AimBig, and with vacancies available for general hands, Tammy wanted to make these paid positions available for our participants. Tammy gave the participants a tour of the facilities and completed the full processing practice from donation, to sorting and cleaning and finally sales in the retail store.
Participants learnt about the types of items that get donated and some perks of the job such as discounts on items. Tammy has several positions available and has invited all participants that attended the tour to put a formal application in. The formal recruitment process is now in progress with the team at Incredable Tip Shop.
The day was a huge success with all participants thoroughly enjoying AimBig’s Employer Roadshow. Not only was it an opportunity to see first-hand the jobs that were available in Mackay, but also a fantastic learning opportunity as they discovered rich culture and history about these large employers in Mackay.
All participants had fun and shared lots of laughs on the Road trip. It was also a great opportunity for them to spend valuable time with their job coaches and enable the coaches to see their participants thriving in the workforce. The icing on the cake was that every single participant that attended was offered a job directly from this Roadshow, pending final employment checks and medicals. The AimBig team are hoping to continue these events in both this region again and spread more broadly across the organisation’s footprint.
