Geraldton job-seeking youth Rock It in transition to work project

Geraldton’s job-seeking youth were encouraged by the testimonies of other locals who had to fight to achieve their dreams at a workshop on Wednesday.

An initiative of Transition to Work, the Rock It event is the first of its kind to be held in Geraldton and aims to develop resilience in local unemployed young people between the age of 15 and 24.

Attendees heard from guest speakers such as former Geelong defender Harry Taylor, who spoke about not letting defeat get in the way of achieving goals.

If you lose a game or you don’t do as good a job as you had hoped, that’s OK — there is always tomorrow,

The group also heard from JMG Group operations manager Leah Hirst, Rigters Supermarkets operations manager Stuart Bain, Warren Taylor Homes director Warren Taylor, and GBSC cabinet and joinery manager Dean Barden.

Joblink’s Tiffany Baskeyfield hoped the personal stories of triumph would help give young people the final boost of encouragement needed to enter the workforce.

“It is all about sharing these personal stories and letting people know that it is OK where you are now, you are able to take that next step and you don’t have to be scared,” she said.

We have a lot of them that haven’t got that resilience or motivation, and they are just scared to take that next step, Tiffany Baskeyfield.

“We don’t just pop anyone into any old job, we match the position and the employer to the individual so that we know we have that really good match from the start,” she said. “We continue to work with the employer and the young person during the first six months.”