Seven months working at Vision Australia, through the organisation’s Career Start program, has set 28 year old Brooke up with a role at Medibank.
The annual program, running since 2015, was created to help graduates who are blind or have low vision find employment. Many of the graduates have gone on to find meaningful work following their participation in the program.
This was no different for Brooke.
“Working at Vision Australia gave me the confidence to go into a new workplace, do my job and get the outcomes I want,” Brooke said.
Participants in The Career Start complete an external placement. Following her placement at Medibank, they invited Brooke to continue in her role as Customer Care Consultant.
After completing a bachelor of social work with honours, Brooke was looking for a graduate program to take part in.
“I like the Career Start program because it is about finding out what your skills are and tailoring a role to suit those skills,” she said.
Aspects of Brooke’s role with Vision Australia involved taking calls, booking client appointments and working as an NDIS support coordinator.
“It was all about client interaction and connecting them with Vision Australia services,” she said.
Brooke took the skills she learned and experience liaising with clients to her new role with Medibank.
“Medibank provides programs that aim to prevent people from having to go into hospital and avoid the risk that they will have to return.
“I make follow up phone calls to participants and ask questions to assess risks and see how they’re going.
“I also do surveys over the phone where I ask participants about their experience with the program.”
Like many graduates, dealing with difficult situations and time management can be a steep learning curve.
“I had to learn to say no when a client asked for something we couldn’t offer,” she said, “And I’ve been able to draw on that experience to help me in my work at Medibank.
“I also learnt a lot at Vision Australia about managing time effectively and asking colleagues for help when needed.”
Being a Career Start graduate also helped Brooke make decisions about the type of work she wants to do.
“When I finished my degree I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do traditional social work such as case management.
“Being at Vision Australia taught me that I could use my degree in lots of ways.”
Brooke had some advice for current Career Start graduates.
“Don’t be afraid to get involved with things. When I was at Vision Australia, I joined the social club and I really enjoyed it.
“Take time to build connections with people in your team.
“I’m still in touch with people from my own team even though I’m not working at Vision Australia anymore.”
Click here to find out more about Vision Australia’s Career Start program, or you can contact us on 1300 847 466 or at info@visionaustralia.org