Meet Britt. She’s 24, lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and loves road-tripping with her long-term partner and their French bulldog pup. She’s also recently secured her first full-time job, working in the city full time at Acciona, a company that develops and manages infrastructure and renewable energy.
One month in, and she’s doing really well in her role as a receptionist. “I have really come a long way since day one. I feel more comfortable doing tasks and being alone while working. Each day I’m asking less and less questions, and remembering more and more names!”
Britt is happy to be working in secure, full-time employment, but it has been hard work to get there. She started out at Jigsaw in a traineeship in Jigsaw’s digitisation business. She gained experience in scanning, document management, quality control and, most importantly, the core soft skills to succeed in a working environment. After finishing at Jigsaw she worked across different jobs in disability support, including in a group setting, and in a residential house where she supported people to get ready in the morning for their work day.
A key constant throughout all her roles, and her journey to her current job at Acciona, has been the support from Jigsaw’s Transitions Coordinator, Michael Summers. Michael has supported Britt with job applications, interviews, and with regular check-ins at her jobs.
Britt has welcomed the additional support in the early stages of her job, while she gets to know the ropes. “ I am a bit of a slow learner and take a little bit longer to understand tasks. Once I have got the hang of it, I am all over it though. If it wasn’t for Michael I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Britt has realised through her experiences both at Jigsaw and in disability support work, that she enjoys something hands-on. The diversity of her work at Acciona appeals to this side of her. On any given day she might be answering phone calls, doing stocktake, organising meetings and booking rooms or making sure the office is clean and COVID-safe. She also assists with any other tasks that come up throughout the day.
Britt intends to stay in her receptionist job for the long term. It will offer security and stability for the life and future she is planning with her partner.
“My partner and I have been together for quite some time. He is really supportive in every aspect of my life and he and my family want nothing but the best for me. We both would like to travel the world, get married and create a family together. I also have a lot of health issues, so living a happy and healthy life together would be the world to both of us! We have high hopes for a great life ahead together!”
Career-wise, Britt doesn’t have a long-term plan but is quietly confident things will work out well. “I would love to see where my life will take me and hope that’s going to be a good journey for me,” she says.
We’re sure it will, Britt. All the best for the journey ahead!
About Jigsaw
Jigsaw is a social enterprise that provides an innovative pathway to open employment for people with disability. By embedding a comprehensive skill-based training program within our commercial document and data management business, Jigsaw enables people with disability to achieve their employment goals at their own pace. Jigsaw’s holistic approach starts from the very basics of core work skills and supports trainees all the way through to transition to open employment with ongoing support and coaching once they have transitioned.
Jigsaw is located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, with Canberra and Perth locations coming soon.