LUKE Bastien and San Thach are two of the latest graduates of the Personal Opportunities Pathway program, which provides work opportunities to 18 to 30 year olds having difficulties obtaining employment.
The program, developed by the Hills Community Support Group and Midland Brick, has been running on the Midland Brick site for the past eight weeks, involving the participants in work experience, fitness training, mentoring, work-ready training and teachings about the benefits of teamwork and work safety standards.
Now that Mr Bastien and Mr Thach have graduated from the POP program, their next step is to complete two-weeks full-time paid work with Midland Brick.
Mr Bastien, who had been responsible for operating a brick saw, said the program had been an extremely positive experience for him and he was looking forward to the challenge of being an employee at Midland Brick for the next two weeks.
Mr Thach, who had been working in procurement, said he would also pursue long-term employment with Midland Brick, partly due to the valuable support he received from the program mentors.
“The guys at Midland Brick were always willing to spend the extra time to teach us valuable skills for our long-term development,” he said.