Starting to pack, mind made up- 24 year old Jame Aitken was on her way out of Tenterfield in search of employment. Jame had spent months looking for full time work in the small regional town, with no luck. Now she needed to make the move in order to find a job to help her family.
“There aren’t enough employment opportunities.” Jame said.
But on Easter Monday that all changed. Jame’s phone buzzed with a message from BEST Employment enquiring about her interest in the medical field. There was an opportunity to secure an internship through Youth Jobs PaTH as a Receptionist at Tenterfield Medical Centre.
Eager, Jame met with Dr Nilukshi and Mohan Siribaddana on April 18th and commenced her internship on April 19th.
It didn’t take long for Jame’s employers to see her talent, and on May 9 Jame finished her internship and started her career, with a two year full-time traineeship as a Medical Receptionist.
“Jame, from her very first day at work I released she is ready to face this challenge. She wants to learn and she is happy to do that. We want to take her to the best possible place in this field.” Mohan said.
“If she does her traineeship for two years she can work in big general practices. She will have a place with those big companies.”
Dr Nilukshi and Mohan Siribaddana have a strong focus to give back to the community and they are pleased to give this employment opportunity to a young person, like Jame.
“It is one of the best programs the government has done. It allows the employer to check out the employee for a few weeks to see if he or she fits into their workplace. And it’s comfortable for both of us, employee and employer.” Mohan said.
“It been great. I got more out of it than I thought I would. Meeting people and being involved in something and getting a job out of it has been incredible.” Jame said.
‘The internship was a good period to learn what I needed to.”
And for Jame it was an opportunity to stay closer to home.
“I’ve got my family here. It was stressful on all of us so it has taken a lot of stress off.”
“Carol at BEST Employment has been really supportive throughout every minute of the way. She has kept it clear, it’s not a fuddle in my head. I have access to BEST whenever I need.”
