Employment, education and training are Ladder’s key program pillars. Ladder Development Coaches work with program participants to help them become confident, skilled and job ready, so they are prepared for when an employment opportunity presents itself.

Step Up Latrobe Valley program participants recently engaged in an interview outfit challenge. The young people all went to a department store and selected an outfit which they identified as appropriate to wear to a job interview. They all wanted to apply for retail and customer service jobs so they worked together to select neat and presentable clothes and were guided by the Development Coaches.

This activity complimented the careers and job readiness session Development Coaches worked on with the young people, where they learned about appropriate clothing to wear to interviews and how they should present themselves.

“It’s important because you want to feel confident enough going into an interview and there are different appropriate clothing choices for the different job interviews you are going for” – Program participant.

The program participants enjoyed the challenge and found this activity very helpful. After completing the challenge, they had an increase in self-confidence and were ready to look for work and prepare for a job interview.

In the coming weeks, the remaining sessions on job readiness will focus on professional communication, career pathways and job searching. The next challenge for our young people will be to put everything in to practice and engage in a mock interview with Ladder Development Coaches.