The Ladder Step Up Sydney program supports young people aged 15 to 24 years living in or who have experienced out-of-home care (OOHC) to reach their full potential.

Throughout the eight-week intensive program, young people participate in a range of engaging and hands on activities to improve their wellbeing, build their confidence, learn independent living skills, build positive relationships and achieve their education, employment and training goals. Following the intensive program, young people receive a minimum of six months support from their Ladder Step Up Sydney Development Coach.

83% of Sydney program participants are now in education, employment and training after completing the Step Up Sydney program.

Three Ladder Alumni program members have recently been successful in pursuing their employment pathways.

Meet Tiago

Tiago entered the program with a number of different goals, including wanting to join the Defence Force as well as become a mechanic. Tiago’s Ladder Development Coach assisted him with resume writing and job interview preparation and after graduating from the program, he obtained employment as a butcher to financially support himself. Tiago had a few setbacks with medical issues which unfortunately affected his employment. Despite all that was transpiring for Tiago, his positive nature continued to shine, along with his determination and tenacity.  He applied for an apprenticeship recently and was successful in obtaining one as an Automotive Electrician.

“Ladder helped by keeping me motivated and continuing to search for apprenticeships. This was very important as I had been knocked back a few times and it was discouraging but Ladder instilled resilience in me. They also reached out to local organisations and employment agencies that also assisted me to get the apprenticeship.”

Meet Simon

Simon applied for Centrelink as a Job Seeker, wrote his resume together with his Ladder Development Coach and did some job interview preparation while actively applying for work in warehousing, retail and hospitality.

Simon recently completed an online job application for Red Rooster and attended his local Red Rooster with his Development Coach to hand in his resume. Simon was successful for a crew member role and required work boots and a uniform. He was unable to fund these so Ladder linked him in with Asuria who generously paid for Simon’s new work boots and uniform.

“The Ladder program was a stepping stone in my journey to gain employment. They prepared me for every aspect of gaining employment and I don’t believe I could’ve achieved this on my own.”

“My Development Coach has shown me the values of being punctual and to develop the mindset of striving to do better. Although I’ve got a job now, my Development Coach has convinced me to expand my qualifications and continue to study while working.”

Meet Zakary

Zakary decided he wanted to seek employment to become financially independent. Zakary’s Ladder Development Coach worked with him to write up a resume, complete a mock interview and set up a Seek account. Zak applied for a Labourer position as he is interested in trade work and successfully became employed as a welder in a local welding workshop, working on toolboxes for utility vehicles.