Aussie Broadband offers every student on pre-employment course a job

Aussie Broadband surprised students from a pre-employment course in Lynbrook today by offering every one of them a job.

Kickstart Your Career in Call Centre Operations is a four-week pre-employment course run by Hallam Community Learning Centre with employer partner Aussie Broadband.

Jordan Mizzi, from Narre Warren, who has severe tendonitis and ADHD, said he was shocked and delighted at the news.

“I’m just thrilled to be offered a job. I wasn’t expecting such a quick response.

“For a long time, I didn’t have anything to do. So I found myself staying up late and getting into bad habits. This course has helped me develop essential life skills,” he said.

“Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed that I have a much better routine. This is very important for me, especially with my ADHD. I’m now able to focus better.”

Students learn a range of different skills related to the call centre industry, including telephone etiquette and IT skills such as touch typing.

Amanda Wright, Hallam Community Centre Trainer, said it’s been amazing watching the students grow during the course.

“They’ve been working really hard and it’s been lovely to see how passionate they are about learning new skills. I’m so proud of them.”

Catherine White, People and Culture Officer at Aussie Broadband, said the company was impressed by the quality and input of the students.

“Everyone has worked really hard and the feedback from the trainers has been really positive,” she said.

“As a result, we decided to offer employment to all seven trainees who completed the course.”

“Since January, we’ve already hired twelve people through the program, all of whom are still employees.”

Clive Waters, 64, who lives in Mulgrave, had previously worked as a security person, servicing ATMs.

He said this has been a fantastic course and he wished more companies would do something similar.

“This is brilliant news. I really enjoyed this course. Everyone has got a nice attitude when dealing with customers. You can tell the customers appreciate that.

“I’ve been on the road for 30 years, and I’m looking forward to spending the last part of my working years being part of a team, in an office environment,” he said.

The course was originally developed by Gippsland Employment Skills Training (GEST) and Aussie Broadband to open up work opportunities for unemployed people in the Latrobe Valley.

It’s been so successful that it’s now been expanded to Aussie Broadband’s new call centre based in the outer South East of Melbourne at Lynbrook.

Scott Mitchell, GEST Trainer, said the standard of students was very high with this intake.

“It’s been a real pleasure to teach this group. It was surprising to see that everyone was offered a role with Aussie Broadband. That’s the first time this has happened. But it really does prove that hard work pays off.”

More information about Aussie Broadband can be found here.