Two women who completed AMES Australia's indigenous mentoring program have gone on to find work after years of unemployment.
Rhonda and Nakoa, who are clients of AMES Liverpool office in NSW, have each taken significant breaks from employment to focus their time on supporting their families and communities.
And they found that re-entering the workforce, after 30 and ten years respectively, was a daunting experience.
But after completing the program, both have found work with social enterprise Clean Force.
As natural caregivers and proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women they came to the attention of Clean Force when NSW Operations Manager, Tony Daoud, was invited to speak to the mentoring group about his organisation and its unique hiring philosophy.
Starting out as cleaners, Rhonda and Nakoa joined the team at Parramatta Square, keeping the environment clean and workable in several government offices.
But within weeks their leadership qualities were recognised and they were promoted them to supervisors.
Both Rhonda and Nakoa were surprised at getting promotion after having been out of the workforce for so long.
“I always wanted to be a leader, however I didn't think that it would happen so quickly. I didn't believe in myself before starting this role but being a supervisor has given me a lot more self-esteem. I now realise I'm intelligent, confident and outspoken," Rhonda said.
AMES Australia Industry and Client Manager Kim Murray said that through COVID-19, Rhonda and Nakoa have not only had to navigate leading a team for the first time but also adapting to stringent new workplace hygiene standards.
“Focused on keeping the government workers and their own team safe, Rhonda and Nakoa have had to step up their cleaning duties – including ongoing sanitisation of each level throughout the day. They have done a great job," Kim said.
