Connor credits SEE program with giving him the skills to pay the bills

Graduating high school is a milestone that signals the start of adulthood and a life of independence. For those that don’t finish high school, however, the choices can be limited.

While high school retention rates in Australia are higher than they have ever been, there are still significant numbers of young people leaving school early.

For these early leavers, there is a greater risk of long-term unemployment and many times the related outcomes of social exclusion, welfare dependence and mental health problems.

Sadly, for many young people, several of the factors that may lead to leaving school early are out of their hands.

For Connor, home life was difficult, and he moved states at the age of 9 to live with his Aunt.

Not really finding the support he needed in school, Connor rarely completed work in class and as a result missed many of the foundational skills needed to gain employment in today’s workforce.

After leaving school in year 11 he engaged with a Transition to Work provider and although he found a job, he struggled with the little training he received and was let go after 4 months.

Connor joined the Skills for Employment and Education (SEE) program in Caboolture and was determined to gain the skills to gain meaningful and ongoing employment.

Struggling with Maths and English, in the 5 months he has been with the SEE program he has learnt a variety of skills.

The other skills that he has learned during his time with the SEE program such as time management and organisational skills have allowed him to concentrate better at work too.

Connor’s literacy skills have progressed to the point where he was able to write his own resume which helped him secure a position at McDonalds.