Karrina’s story – Finding support and the strength to move forward

Karrina was at a standstill. After years of pouring her heart into her role as a teacher’s aide, she knew she needed a change.

“I was lost. I didn’t know what to do. I felt like I was on a path that I didn’t want to continue. But I was still in a position where I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Karrina said.

It was a referral from IntoJobs that introduced Karrina to its Moving the Mob program, delivered by MRAEL (both part of the IntoWork Group) that offered Karrina a lifeline. Moving the Mob is a community-driven initiative co-designed with First Nations facilitators to support job seekers in a culturally safe environment. The program, based in Gladstone, Queensland, empowers participants to connect with community, set personal goals and gain new skills in preparation for finding new work opportunities.

At first, it wasn’t easy. The thought of opening up to strangers was daunting and Karrina found it hard to accept support from outside her community. But once she got to know the group, she was soon attending every session.

“When I first went in, there was a bit of a feeling of shame. I’d thrown in my teaching job. I was having some family issues. I didn’t know what to do and I was sort of slipping into a state of depression. It was good to just get out of the house and meet people I didn’t know. It took a couple of days to actually open up and start talking. But that was my first step, and I was able to begin to move forward,” she said.

For Karrina, one of the most rewarding aspects of the Moving the Mob program was understanding she wasn’t alone. As she got to know the group, it gave her hope to know she’d be sharing a journey with people who had similar challenges of their own.

“It was so helpful listening to their story too, because we all had similar backgrounds but from different places and different age groups. We were all similar and wanted to, you know, break the cycle and allow ourselves to just open up and connect with other people. Yeah, it was so good to just sit and listen to them.”

By the time Karrina had finished the program she was feeling more optimistic and motivated but was still unsure of which way to go in terms of work.

Her employment consultant from IntoJobs referred her to another program called Women in Industry – run by program partners Deploy and Harness. This program is more specifically focused on training entry level industry skills. It was through this program that Karrina began to see a pathway towards employment. She didn’t miss a session and discovered a new sense of self-belief.

“When I first started these programs, I questioned myself. I had doubts. I kept saying ‘What am I doing here?’. But the experience alone opened up new doors within myself. It was awesome,” Karrina said.

“It helped me become a better partner and a better mother to my children when I’m at home. I did things in the program I never thought I’d ever do. I’m scared of heights, but I did my working with heights training. I’m scared of confined spaces, but I did my confined spaces training. I even got my forklift license. I never even thought I’d ever jump on a forklift.  I achieved a lot of things over those two months. I was pretty proud of myself.”

Karrina’s completion of the Women in Industry program led to an offer of employment with the Spotless group. She’s loving the work and has set herself a five-year goal of moving into a supervisor role.

“My youngest girl will be finished high school by then, so I’m giving myself that timeframe. I’m happy where I am at the moment but that’s what I’m aiming for. I’ve got my foot in the door and that’s what I wanted.”