Rose came along to a Youth Centre Barista programme in January 2020.

From the very start, it was easy to see great potential in her. She took it upon her self to register on the barista programme showing great self-determination to explore various roles, develop her individual strengths and a real desire to succeed.

Our vision of young people reaching their full potential means that Rotorua youth are happy, healthy and safe; accepted, valued, respected and connected; involved and empowered;
and have a strong sense of belonging with access to productive work and learning opportunities, services, resources and supports that will help them reach their potential. So when a young person attends one of our programmes we undertake in-depth needs and strengths assessment looking at the whole young person, develop a tailor made plan, and support them along that journey, meaning that young people receive a lot more support then they bargained for.

On top of facing a range of family illness and the responsibility of looking after her siblings, Rose lived out of town, had no driver’s license and was completely dependent on other family members for transport. Despite her barriers Rose showed a great motivation to learn and upskill, and thankfully had a supportive family who were only too happy to help.

With a support plan in place to focus on her strengths and eliminate the barriers, Rose became more confident, and her self-belief grew exponentially over the year as she developed a sense of belonging, experienced positive interaction with peers and with nurturing adults.  Rose was also able to see for herself her own ability to achieve!

While she continued to participate on the Barista programme we connected her with the Youth Employment Plus team.

Rose worked with the Youth Employment Team to identify personal goals and develop a plan. In spite of Rose being initially placed in a job that she didn’t particularly enjoy, her great attitude was evident to her employer as she learnt a lot, worked long hours on her feet, and proved her ability and positive attitude with zero absenteeism!

As we continued to work with her on the development of her Café skills, finally a role came up that was more in line with her passion of hospitality. Rose successfully obtained a job with a popular Rotorua Café.  So impressed with Roses performance was they employer that they even created a brand new position where Rose could work shifts in two of their local cafe’s.

Watching this young person develop in to a confident star employee, watching her develop skills and strengths, grow in self belief and determination, eliminate multiple barriers and achieve her Learners Drivers License has not only been a great pleasure, but has been an example to everyone that nothing is impossible with the right attitude!

Her current employer and supervisors absolutely rave about Rose as she has proven to everyone involved that the long journey with great determination and perseverance was worth every step!

 

*Names changed to protect identity.