Ronnie’s journey into a carpentry apprenticeship began at one of our Fit 4 Work sessions, where he met Employment Mentor Sharie after attending with his uncle.
While Ronnie was initially interested in a career in mining, Sharie recognised that his age and existing construction training made an apprenticeship a strong pathway. She connected him with Skill Hire to explore opportunities in the building industry.
“I forwarded his resume to Skill Hire, and they met him at one of our Employer Days,” Sharie said.
“They interviewed him and loved him straight away. Since then, he’s been making really thoughtful decisions about his future and putting in the hard work. I haven’t had a single piece of negative feedback about his performance.”
Our P242 Employment Program supports First Nations job seekers to build employability skills and prepare for work through tailored training and mentoring.
As part of the program, participants attend weekly Fit 4 Work sessions in Lathlain, delivered through our partnership with Shell. These sessions provide opportunities to connect directly with potential employers while building skills through mock interviews, budgeting and wellbeing activities.
Ronnie is now working as a carpentry apprentice, gaining hands-on experience across a range of projects and developing valuable skills on the job.
“What got me interested in carpentry was doing woodwork at school,” Ronnie said.
“Every day is different. I could be working on flooring, helping build a roof, or doing finishing work on a house. The team has been really good and they’ve taught me a lot.”
One recent achievement Ronnie is particularly proud of is learning how to accurately pitch a roof, an important skill in residential construction.
“I’m proud of showing up every day and learning new things,” he said.
His commitment and work ethic have not gone unnoticed by his employer, Mark, who said Ronnie is a star employee, coming to work every day and giving it his all. “He wants to learn, so we can work with him,” he said.
With a carpentry career now underway, Ronnie is continuing to build both his skills and confidence while creating a strong foundation for his future.
Plan 2day 4 2morrow (P242) is a pre-employment program assisting Indigenous job seekers including weekly pre-employment group sessions (Fit 4 Work) with individual mentoring support. P242 focuses on improving employability of Indigenous job seekers through the development of foundation skills and work readiness. Find out more.
