Growing up with low vision, Brooke found she lacked the confidence to talk about her career goals.
Now 30 years old and having completed the Vision Australia Career Start program, Brooke’s thriving in the workplace and building the foundations of strong career.
“Growing up I always found it hard to talk about career goals. I always wanted to work with animals, but with my vision deteriorating this just wasn’t possible,” Brooke said.
“It wasn’t until the end of high school that I realised I would need to find an alternative career path,” she said.
Brooke decided to study disability at TAFE, before making the move into social work.
After graduating, she joined the Career Start program, which consists of a nine-month paid position with Vision Australia and three months working with an external organisation.
“Having experienced unemployment before the Career Start program, my confidence was very low and I didn’t believe in myself. I found it difficult to adapt to a new work setting and was worried about making mistakes”.
“Taking part in the program has been a great way to prepare for the workforce. It has boosted my confidence, allowed me to acquire new knowledge and reassured me that I have undertaken the correct career path.”
During her time at Vision Australia, Brooke was part of the client services team, supporting others who are blind or have low vision to navigate the NDIS.
“I was given a caseload of 14 clients to assist through their NDIS journey.
“I would help set up services, assist with managing budgets and preparing documents and reports.”
Brooke then spent three months at Medibank Private, where her new-found skills and confidence helped her land a full-time role after the Career Start program concluded.
“I work on a preventative health program alongside clinical staff to assist customers with achieving their health goals. I mostly conduct follow up and survey calls for a range of different programs.”
Applications for Vision Australia’s Career Start program for 2022 are now open. To apply, or to find out more about the program, click here.