At 21 years old, Kate Walker is a part of Melba’s younger workforce – she’s loving her job so far and she is looking forward to getting out in the community to support people.
At the moment, Kate is one of the friendly faces greeting people coming into Melba’s Ballarat office and she’s also one of the friendly voices greeting them on the phone, as part of her job as a receptionist.
“We don’t’ really see too many people popping their faces in now, because of Covid most people are used to sending emails instead. I like it when they come in and when I talk to them on the phone too, I’m a bit of a people-person,” she said.
Kate is three-and-a-half months into her Certificate III in business Administration, with Melba as her host employer. After 12 months her traineeship will be complete and she’s hoping to be put on as a permanent part-time receptionist.
“They’re training me up for a job while I’m working on it, and then I’ll be qualified because of my study.”
But it’s getting out into the field that Kate is really, really, passionate about.
“I’ve always wanted to work in disability - my parents were foster carers, and I grew up with my parents fostering kids with disabilities. I grew up with two boys, they both had quite severe Autism spectrum disorder and one, he was non-verbal, and one was only three months younger than me so we very much grew up together.
“This job was a gateway to get into Melba and see what it’s like, so hopefully I get to do some support work soon as well.”
Already, Kate has settled in to become very much a part of the Ballarat office.
“The people I work with make it really easy - everyone in the office has been super lovely and super welcoming, so that made it really easy to slide into the role and start working.”