Janice Scrutton is a 59-year-old First Nations woman who has been a CDP participant since 2015, and lived in Katherine since 2016. She previously lived in Alice Springs, where she brought up her family and worked for Ayiparinya Hostel as a general hand, gaining cleaning and food preparation skills.
Janice had always been proactive about the support that CDP offered her – responding well to group activities and continuing to attend when CDP requirements changed and attendance become voluntary. She liked connecting with Mob, telling stories and doing something different other than being at home.
But despite a great attitude and willingness to develop new skills and contribute to her community, because of personal and family reasons and the loss of her husband a few years ago, Janice had been unable to get a ‘proper’ job.
With the flexibility offered by the Trialling Pathways to Real Jobs to pay wage subsidies, the CDP service provider – RISE Ventures – was able to support the creation of a new, flexible job as a catering assistant which perfectly suited Janice, and she jumped at the opportunity.
Trialling Pathways has meant that Janice has also been able to receive more support than she previously would have, as she settled into her new role – ensuring a really strong induction with her employer, and everything she needed to get off to a good start – such as tools, reference material, uniforms, and PPE, as well as some phone credit and grocery vouchers which made it easier to transition over the first few weeks.
In her job, Janice assists with food preparation, supporting other CDP participants, mentoring and cleaning. She also plays a key role in a running a Healthy Lifestyle program, which teaches other community members to cook healthy meals, read and write menus, and budget a weekly meal schedule. To complement this program, a Paddock to Plate program grows vegetables and herbs for use in the meals.
Trialling Pathways has allowed the provision of real wages to people like Janice who want to work and contribute but don’t feel confident enough to do so in a traditional workplace. She has so far been employed for 16 weeks, after having been unemployed for 10 years. Janice is building skills and experience that will make it easier for her to move into other jobs when she feels ready. In the meantime, she is receiving mentoring and support so she can enjoy her current role, upskill in areas she’s interested in, and contribute to her Mob and community.
Contact RISE Katherine
- 08 8972 9200
- info@riseventures.com.au
- Shop 2, 42 Katherine Terrace, Katherine, NT 0850
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