The Salvage & Save team at Goolwa found a new meaningful way to bring a little joy and Christmas cheer to the community, while at the same time making good use of recycled materials, and the skills they’ve developed in employment.
Over the past 6 months, the team worked together to design, build and decorate a near life-sized gingerbread house, complete with a chimney, enclosed patio and a novelty giant lollipop.
The idea came about to increase our engagement in the Christmas Pageants our teams attend annually. Not only with our wrapped vehicles and team’s volunteering to take part, but also to show off the skills and capabilities of our entire team in a fun and festive display for the community.
Participating in the design empowered our team to be fully involved in the project, from pencil and paper, all the way through to the final details. Empowering everyone to see and feel the real impact they all had on the project, in its every stage. The team also got to see a little more about what goes into designing our larger range of well-known moboMade products, including our Wicking Beds and Fish Benches. Empowering them to explore skills, and to possibly open the gateway to new and better ideas for future moboMade products.
Built from the ground up on a salvaged wood pallet, and other recycled materials, the gingerbread house is transportable and is to join our teams on the pageant routes, with appearances in the Salisbury, Mount Barker and Victor Harbor Christmas Pageants. It’ll also hang around for future Christmas events and pageants in the years to come.
The Goolwa team has taken great pride in working on and completing the Gingerbread House, and with the reactions of our local communities who have seen it, it’s a sweet treat all round!
The moboGardening Services team on the Fleurieu recently took on a new type of job – laying turf!
The job was contracted by the City of Victor Harbor for around the carpark at the Encounter Bay Football Club and the area connecting to Armstrong Road. The area was large, but flat except for a mound on one side.
Michael, who has been part of the moboTeam on the Fleurieu for over 25 years said,
The Council helped prepare the ground, while Matthew, another team member purchased a tool to level the ground and remove any stones.
The Victor Harbor Council also supplied and delivered the pallets of turf needed for the job.
Knowing the job would involve some heavy manual labour, the team leaders elected to split the group into smaller teams to get the job done as efficiently as possible, while also looking out for the welfare of our team.
After a quality day’s work, the team installed some temporary star droppers and rope lines to barricade the freshly lain lawn. Michael said,
“We were all thanked for a good day’s work, and I appreciated the change in work”
The turf laying job empowered our team to learn and practice new skills while working, while also opening the possibility of taking on similar jobs in the future.
It provided a great opportunity to mix up the usual workday, by providing a different, but interesting and engaging job for the team – something the whole team appreciates and thoroughly enjoyed doing.
The team wishes to thank the Encounter Bay Football Club and the Victor Harbor council for the great opportunity given to our team!
The grass is settling in, if you’d like to see the hard work of the team, visit the Encounter Bay Footy Club. Or, if you’re in need of gardening services – from block slashing, to pruning and edging, to waste removal, or even lawn laying – get in touch with the Victor Harbor team on 08 8552 7654 or drop in and see the team at 44-46 George Main Road, Victor Harbor 5211.
Continually finding new opportunities for our team to build their skills and capabilities in employment is one of the ways we empower each of our Enterprises, and the people in them to prosper. With the support of dedicated Job Coaches, we are witnessing transformative changes in our team of people with a disability.
Our Job Coaches are at the forefront of this initiative, identifying and facilitating opportunities for meaningful skill growth. Their efforts are already yielding positive results, as our teams embrace new challenges with enthusiasm and determination. One area where this impact is particularly evident is in customer service—a task that many find daunting.
On the Fleurieu Peninsula, our team at the Victor Harbor Firewood & Gardens Enterprise has made great strides in growing their skills and capabilities in customer service. They have learned to use the weighbridge, calculate the dollar value of weighed loads, and operate the point-of-sale devices on site. Thanks to the foresight of our Finance team, who colour-coded the buttons on the point-of-sale system to match our products and services, our team can easily identify and input the necessary items to complete sales.
Moreover, these skills enable our team to engage more effectively with the wider community, fostering positive relationships with the regular customers and clients who visit the Victor Harbor site.
While the work of our Job Coaches is still in its early stages, the enthusiasm and progress we have seen from the team so far highlight the profound impact that meaningful skill development can have on the lives of people with disabilities. We are committed to continually seeking new opportunities for our teams to build their skills and capabilities, and we look forward to sharing every success as our Job Coaches empower our workforce to thrive in the workplace.
This journey is not just about skill development; it’s about creating an inclusive environment where every team member can prosper and contribute as valuable members of the workforce. The future is bright, and we are excited to see our teams continue to grow and excel.
Before mobo, Denelle believed that the faced life and its challenges completely alone, but with support, she’s become self-motivated, confident and has goals she has pride in pursuing.
Riddled with severe anxiety that made even a trip to the grocery store an extremely difficult, and watching as her children suffered, or even mimicked her isolating behaviours, Denelle knew that she needed urgent support to get herself and her family the brighter future they were slowly losing their grasp of.
Without external support systems, much employment history, qualifications nor formal education, Denelle turned to the two-time award winning moboEmployment Services in Salisbury to empower her to get her life back on track.
Working slowly over the course of 4 years, Denelle and the team worked to discover and identify what kind of employment would best suit Denelle’s needs and interests. Eventually choosing to pursue a role in Support Work, Denelle enrolled in and commenced a course of study to gain knowledge of the role she wanted, increasing her employability and likelihood of success.
Keeping up with her parenting responsibilities, and having her health throw a few curveballs in the mix, Denelle kept weekly contact with her ESO for continual motivation. As a result, she has successfully completed the first semester of her studies!
moboEmployment Services has even offered Denelle space in the office for her studies! Knowing that the best chance of succeeding in study is to be among others who can provide extra support and motivation in an inclusive, body-doubling style environment.
Denelle’s studies are ongoing, but her life and her outlook have taken a massive upswing. Empowering not only her life but the lives of her children – including her son who has himself taken on a 3-year trade apprenticeship!
She is self-motivated, confident, determined to succeed, and has developed great pride in her life and in pursuing her goals. Through Denelle’s work, and the support of mobo, her life, and the lives of her children are officially back on track and charging towards prospering in a brighter future!
If you are like Denelle and need support to find, gain and sustain meaningful employment, you can get turn to mobo for support. Give us a call on 08 8130 1800 or email us at enquiries@mobogroup.com.au to begin your journey towards empowerment in employment. Or reach out directly to moboEmployment Services Salisbury by calling the team on 08 8130 1802.
We’ve made a business partnership that empowers jobseekers in Victor Harbor!
mobo Employment Services Victor Harbor, in collaboration with our School Leaver’s Employment Support (SLES) team have begun a collaboration with the Encounter Community Centre (ECC), a fellow disability services provider located in Victor Harbor! A business partnership that brings mutual benefits to both of our organisations AND empowers our jobseekers to build the skills, confidence and experience they need to find meaningful employment.
One way that we support our jobseekers with disability is through finding and providing them with work experience and training opportunities related to the career path that they want to pursue. This could take the form of supporting them to enroll in and complete certificates and training licenses, connecting them with potential employers for hands-on work trials, or, with our new partnership with the Encounter Centre, providing volunteer opportunities that does both!
Many who are finding valuable volunteering opportunities at the Encounter Centre are those who are working towards a Certificate Ill in Community Services but struggling to find a placement to put their
learning into use and complete their studies.
With the support of the Darryl, a board member at the ECC, many of our jobseekers living with a disability in the Fleurieu Region have taken on meaningful roles within the Centre, from working in the nursery, propagating plants and providing advice and services to customers, stepping behind the coffee machine and making beverages for visitors, and picking up tools in the workshop and producing wooden toys.
In turn, our jobseekers fill the volunteer roles that the Community Centre needs to operate, having lost many of their volunteers over the pandemic, and struggling to fill vacancies since. Our Jobseekers can develop and practice their skills in environments similar to open employment opportunities, while also empowering a local business to keep its doors open.
Darren (left) practicing his skills on the coffee machine, and Adrian (right) using his skills to make wooden toys.
In those roles, while strengthening their confidence and resumes, Darryl is providing jobseekers with professional development plans containing checklists that demonstrate their work capabilities and providing a referee to the jobseekers who can advocate for their suitability for future employment pursuits. Not only providing time and place to develop their skills but also providing tangible proof and advocacy of jobseeker’s skills, all fantastic resources that increase our jobseeker’s employability!
So far, mobo Employment Services Victor Harbor has placed more than 3 jobseekers into roles in the Encounter Community Centre, with hopes of many more joining them in the future. Business partnerships like these allow mobo to maintain positive relationships with providers and employers, in a mutually beneficial cooperation that provides great outcomes to jobseekers as they journey towards prospering in employment!
If you own or are part of a business that would benefit from taking on jobseekers, or are otherwise able to provide pathways for people with disability to develop their skills and confidence for employment, we want to hear from you! To start our mutually beneficial partnership, similar to the success we’ve seen with the Encounter Community Centre, give us a call on 08 8130 1800 or email enquiries@mobogroup.com.au
Tracey had spent her entire career in the disability and community care sector, but after having a break from employment, and acquiring some ongoing injuries that limited her physical mobility, she struggled to get back into employment in her field.
Feeling that her manual handling limitations, as an important part of any role she might go for, as well as her age, would lead to a quick ‘no’ from any employer, even before getting to the interview stage. Tracey found herself rapidly losing confidence, believing that the things she couldn’t do more than outweighed what she was still able to accomplish.
She found herself in need of support not only to find employment, but also to believe that there was still plenty that Tracey could accomplish in employment, despite her physical limitations.
Tracey turned to moboEmployment Gilles Plains, her Employment Services Officer Kirrily providing the encouragement and boosting her confidence she needed to realise that she was still more than capable of participating and prospering in employment. With Kirrily’s support, Tracey renewed the licenses and training that would make her a valuable asset to any team; including her Medical Administration, Manual Handling, and First Aid training. As well as ensuring that her Working with Children Checks were current.
Her confidence boosted, she heard great things from a friend that works at Balance Home Services, with their words in mind, Tracey and Kirrily looked up what requirements they had for applicants. Tracey was able to provide all of the requirements to fulfil an application, and with a phone call to their recruitment team, Kirrily was able to advocate for Tracey’s suitability to working with them.
Tracey was excited to receive a message from Balance Home Services to arrange a group interview – the first she’d gotten in her current employment journey. Things progressed quickly from that point on. Nervous to start, Tracey was put at ease when she met the team and attended her interview.She was successful, and from the interview was quickly called in for orientation, and then could start her role.
We helped put together a basic First Aid kit for Tracey to take with her as part of working, and in the early days of her employment. Tracey greatly looked forward to bringing her experience and enthusiasm to her new role, to be able to give back to her community, and prosper in employment.
Tracey, with the support of the moboEmployment Services team at Gilles Plains, proves that access to the correct supports, accommodations, and understanding can break through any barriers to employment. Tracey’s is a story of believing in your own experiences and abilities, and seeing beyond what isn’t possible, to reopen doors to a meaningful career.
If you are like Tracey and need support to find meaningful employment opportunities, get in touch with mobo on 08 8130 1800 or enquiries@mobogroup.com.au .
Unsure of what types of jobs he would be best at, nor even what kind of work he wanted, as well as wanting to ensure that his employer was not only aware but understanding and compassionate to the medical limitations John lived with.
John and the Employment Services team from Salisbury started at the very beginning, using their early appointments for Discovery activities; finding his strengths and interests, realizing his need to find routine-based and predictable working conditions and roles that would be supportive of his medical needs.
Together, John and the team at Salisbury realized that the most appropriate role to meet John’s needs and interests would be in warehousing, and so, his journey to finding meaningful employment could begin.
To increase his employability and likelihood of success, the team arranged, and paid to renew John’s Forklift license, and booked him in to attend Daniel Menzel’s Mental Toughness Mental Fortitude (MTMF) program. The MTMF program empowered John with new, positive ways of thinking, and helped him to look positively at the future he was working towards.
Come late July 2024, John finally secured employment in a warehousing position. Since then, he’s been happily working full-time, and has told the team at mobo Employment Salisbury how supportive his employer is; allowing John to take breaks as needed and has a regular routine and predictable workload. As much as he appreciates the consistent routine, John is also being trained in other departments, allowing him to mix up his week occasionally, and giving him the opportunity to develop his skills and step in to support other teams as needed.
John’s finally able to support himself financially, and the decreased stress means he can sleep again, can better support his Mum, and is happy with his current employment, and his life.
John’s medical needs made sustaining meaningful employment more complicated, but with access to the right support, John has been able to break through his barriers and find empowerment in employment.
If you are like John and need support to find, gain, and sustain meaningful employment, you can get in touch with mobo to begin your employment journey. You can get in contact with us by calling 08 8130 1800, by emailing enquiries@mobogroup.com.au. Or if you live in the Salisbury area, contact our two-time award-winning Employment Services team directly on 08 8130 1802.
moboEmployment doesn’t just empower jobseekers to find meaningful employment in the open market. The Disability Employment Teams can also support NDIS Participants to engage in the supports they need to accomplish their goals in study and employment.
The Participant, for the purposes of privacy is unnamed, wanted to engage in capacity building and community access opportunities, learning how to communicate and be involved in their community, which would then allow them to pursue further study, and find meaningful employment where they could prosper.
As a young person, just out of High School, they qualified for School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES) Programs to support them to grow their skills. To support this, moboEmployment enlisted the help of Phoebe, a School Leaver Employment Support Consultant from the Riverland and Mallee Enterprise to provide partner services to the Participant.
Working with Phoebe and mobo, the Participant was able to enrol in the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) course through TAFE SA, which would support them to build their language and literacy skills. The participant was able to complete the course within 10 months. The Participant also gained a volunteering role at the Salvation Army, which allowed them to put their new skills to use, and providing an opportunity to engage within the community.
Since finishing the SEE course, the Participant has indicated their interest in pursuing the next steps in education, pursuing a Certificate III in their desired field of work. They continue to work towards building their capabilities, their short- and long-term goals with the support of mobo, and the Riverland and Mallee Enterprises.
Continuing to work to improve their skills, the Participant has the support they need to pursue the future they want for themselves, all thanks to the support received from mobo empowering them to shape their life to accomplish their goals.
Able to support not only Jobseekers with a disability, moboEmployment can also empower NDIS Participants to make the best use of their funding towards achieving their goals by enlisting the services and supports of other specialised providers. To engage in mobo’s Employment Services, you can give us a call on 08 8130 1800 or email us at enquiries@mobogroup.com.au .
After finishing university, Sarah found herself in the common catch-22 of many graduates in their early career – needing a job to get experience but needing experience to get a job. Becoming despondent as her proactive and ongoing job search efforts returned no results, Sarah turned to mobo Employment Services in Salisbury.
Sarah lives with high anxiety and undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder, and alongside having no work history, Sarah was in serious need of support to jump start her employment journey. Working closely with Wendy, her Employment Services Officer in Salisbury, they searched for alternative methods to get Sarah the work experience she needed to grow her confidence and reinvigorate her hope for her future.
While reluctant at first, Sarah decided to pursue some volunteering days at a local Salvo’s Op Shop as an avenue to gain some experience, and to grow her confidence in employment. Starting small, Sarah’s role eventually grew to 4 days per week, she could see an increase in confidence in herself, thriving in her work environment.
While volunteering was going great, Wendy organized other services to support Sarah in her ongoing job search for work in her field. Including joining our job club and a motivational program and updating her resume to include the skills and experience she had gained from the Salvation Army.
Ready to move onto the next step of her employment journey, Sarah was hopeful that her volunteering role at Salvo’s could turn into a paid position, unfortunately, there were no vacancies open at the time. Sarah instead broadened her job search in the Salisbury area and was successful in gaining employment at a local Coles Supermarket.
Excited to move into a paid position, but also very anxious about making the leap, Sarah and Wendy spent several sessions discussing her fears. Including engaging a counsellor to support Sarah to work through her concerns.
Today, Sarah has continued to sustain her employment and is getting close to hitting her 26 week milestone at Coles. While she enjoys her employment, her new sense of confidence and independence, Sarah’s journey to find work in her field is far from over. Still engaging with the support of mobo Employment Services, she’s in the process of planning her next steps to pursuing her dream career.
With the support of mobo Employment Services, Sarah has been able to grow her skills, capabilities and confidence as a valued member of the Australian Workforce. If you are like Sarah, and need some support to prosper in meaningful employment, mobo’s Disability Employment Services team are here to support you!
To begin your journey to empowerment through meaningful employment, get in touch with mobo today by calling our Head Office on 08 8130 1800 or by emailing us on enquiries@mobogroup.com.au.
Feeling stuck and dejected, due to the limited number of businesses in the Riverland, and even fewer entry level positions available, Raymond felt that no matter how hard he tried, how many jobs he applied for each month, he wasn’t getting anywhere.
Raymond had been doing his very best to find meaningful employment in the Riverland alone but found himself with large gaps in his employment history (up to 10 years at a time). Which caused him to be unable to upkeep a healthy diet, keep up with his expenses, nor even to buy himself new clothes on such a limited budget. Nearing the end of his rope, and in serious need of help to secure meaningful employment and get his finances back on track, Raymond turned to mobo Employment Services in Berri.
mobo worked with Raymond to address the barriers he faced in finding employment, including providing guidance in confidently pursuing contact with employers, developing resumes and cover letters for all jobs he went for, and empowering Raymond to build his confidence, his abilities, and his faith in his strengths that he would use in employment. mobo also supported Raymond in his fortnightly reporting to Centrelink, as he had previously been distressed by the robodebt ordeal, a scheme started in 2015 and was highly stressed by the complexity of the process and the unknowns of correctly submitting his information every fortnight.
Raymond had been a client of Berri’s Employment Service for many years, and said of the support he received,
After years of support, and hard work by Raymond, he was finally successful in gaining meaningful employment, and for the previous 6 months, has been able to sustain it. Including being supported to travel to his two-day orientation in Mildura, Victoria, empowered to attend thanks to mobo covering his accommodation expenses.
Raymond is very grateful for the support that mobo has given him, not only has he finally gained meaningful employment, but his new financial freedom has given him the ability to have consistent healthy meals, and the stress of keeping up with his bills and financial needs is all together relieved. In gratitude, Raymond has said,
“My life has turned around, and that’s thanks to Steph and Renae at mobo. I’m thrilled with the growth of my confidence since starting work, knowing that I wouldn’t have gotten this far without mobo’s support, and going forward, I know that mobo will be there for me no matter what.”
If you need support to gain and sustain meaningful employment, you to can turn to mobo for the empowerment you need to smash through any barriers to employment. Just like Raymond has done, all you need to do to begin your employment journey with mobo is give us a call on 08 1830 1800 or email us at enquiries@mobogroup.com.au .
