 Kirsty Tole, BGT Trainee Kristy's Story.Meet Kristy Tole, a wonderful BGT Jobs + Training Ballarat Trainee who wanted to share her story about completing her Traineeship at Vic Roads. Kristy has come along in leaps and bounds since beginning her traineeship with BGT Jobs + Training Ballarat and Vic Roads, and the whole BGT team couldn't be prouder of everything she has achieved. We all know Kristy is going places, and we want to share her inspiring story with you. Read Kristy's full story below and be inspired to take on a traineeship with BGT and Vic Roads today.  Julie Butler, Business Development Manager with Kirsty Tole What were you doing before your traineeship?Prior to the traineeship I had been working in Ballarat temporarily as a call centre operator with a trial run phone line dedicated to rulings, services and general information for Covid 19, unfortunately this phone line never went live and I found myself looking for work again, prior to that I had completed a 12 month contract with Police Assistance Line within Ballarat, as well as various placements as a volunteer while looking for work. What attracted you to the traineeship?In all honesty I saw it as a job opportunity more than anything at the time, as I had been looking for work unsuccessfully during the pandemic situation and jobs were unfortunately few and far between. With no official qualifications to utilise I was applying for anything and everything I could at the time. I recall Julie asking me during the initial interview if I even knew what job I had applied for, my response was “Well to be honest I have no idea, I have applied for that many I couldn’t tell you what this one is.” Julie responded with “so if I told you this was for a veterinary clinic what would you say?” “Pass me a broom and show me where to start.” I genuinely had no idea what I was walking into with this position.  How did you hear about BGT?I found BGT via Seek employment website, and was frantically applying for work. I had to eventually search on Google to discover who BGT are and what they offer. What have you valued the most from your traineeship?The experience of working and studying full time has been incredible, but the most valuable thing I have taken from it has been self-confidence. It has reminded me that regardless what the task at hand is, I have the ability to achieve the end goal. After removing myself from the working world while raising a family and leaving domestic violence situations I had lost that, and this has been an amazing step up back into the working world.  How helpful was the support from BGT?All staff members both internal and external associates were incredibly helpful. Right from the interview stage through to completion staff were accessible even after hours if needed. If they didn’t know something, they never pretended to know the answer they sought clarification from others and came back with the required information. I could not speak higher of the assistance, welcoming manner and amazing support that was provided during my time with BGT. What did you find the most rewarding and most challenging part of your traineeship?The most rewarding part would be the accomplishment of 2 certificates during my 12 month period, its apparently not normal but not only did I believe I could do it but all the staff behind the scenes believed as well and made it possible. The most challenging thing I found was in the initial stages and finding that work/study balance again, as a more mature aged person coming into this I hadn’t studied anything for quite some time, but once I found that balance it was a much smoother process moving forward.  What are you doing now you have completed your traineeshipI am very happy to say I am still working at Vic Roads where my traineeship began. I have progressed from basic licensing and registration into more specialised areas like Vehicle Safety, with a view to continue moving around to eventually work in customer resolution and relations. What advice do you have for someone looking to complete a traineeship?Do it! Its an amazing on the job learning experience, and at the end you get the required qualifications and experience to move forward to more advanced roles in the future.  Is there anything else you'd like someone who is considering a traineeship to know?You never know what you’re capable of until you step in and try. If you're interested in completing an Apprenticeship or Traineeship with BGT Jobs + Training Ballarat, please call us on (03) 5333 8600 or email us at [email protected].
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 BGT CEO Graham McMahon accepting the award on stage. Over 600+ people from across Ballarat's business community came together to celebrate the hard work of the region over the last twelve months. The BGT Jobs + Training Ballarat team are honoured to be winners of the Federation University Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards in the nbn Local Professional Services Business Award category.  Here's a statement from our CEO, Graham McMahon, on the win and what it means to the team: We've worked hard over the last twelve months to make BGT Jobs + Training Ballarat a place where people want to work and an organisation that businesses want to work with, and this award is recognition of that. It's a huge honour, and it's great recognition for the entire team. We've done a lot of work to reshape the organisation in the last few years and to be recognised with this award - we're just ecstatic. We've been challenged the last few years by the constant juggle between lock downs, work from home, don't work from home and do a bit of both. Businesses are putting people off and on, and some businesses can't find people. There's been a machination of issues we've had to navigate through, the likes of which we've never seen before. The BGT Jobs + Training team are really what get us through. I'd like to thank all of our departments from Barkly Square to Training to Community Services to Employment Services and everyone in between. A huge thank you to all of our 30 + staff who contribute each and every day to make Ballarat a better place. Everyone, from the board through the entire organisation, has been on the journey and I think we've delivered for our whole community.  The BGT team accepting the award. To see all of the winners and learn about all of the amazing businesses in Ballarat highlighted through the awards, visit the Commerce Ballarat website, or learn about their current work via their Facebook page.
To see our live interview on the night with Ballarat Times News Group, head to https://www.facebook.com/ballarattimesnewsgroup/videos/755763249023318  Jaz's Story.Meet Jaz, a wonderful BGT Jobs + Training Ballarat Trainee who wanted to share her story about completing her Traineeship at BGT. Although Jaz was initially nervous about taking on a new role and study, she completed her Certificate III in Business on time and with flying colours, despite the difficulties of COVID and lockdowns getting in the way. Read Jaz's full story below and be inspired to take on a traineeship with BGT today.  What were you doing before BGT? Living in Queensland after leaving Ballarat and leaving highschool in Year 11. I worked at a café over the two years I was in Queensland, as well as a childcare centre as a junior educator for about a year. I then moved back to Ballarat and after working 6 days a week I decided to take a break before I started looking for a job. Two of my friends here in Ballarat were completing traineeships in Ballarat through Vic Roads and loved working with BGT and doing their traineeships, so I decided to look into it. At the time, I had some savings when I moved home but I needed to find some work and a way to make money now I was back in Ballarat. I didn’t mind what industry I found work in, I just wanted to do something where I could earn some money but also learn some new skills. The thing that was the most interesting part of doing a BGT traineeship was that you don’t have to do any of the training in your own time. The training is all a part of the hours that you do as ‘work’. This was a great way to both work and get a qualification at the end. This is really great for people who might feel time poor or not know how to manage study and work. A traineeship is both in one!  Why did you choose BGT? I heard good things from my friends, and then met with some of the consultants at BGT. I met with Julie, Anita and Troy, and after the first interview I felt really at ease. BGT tell you what questions they’ll ask, the take a lot of the stress away, tell you what to wear and make you feel really comfortable. BGT felt like a really welcoming place. What steps did you take to get in touch with BGT? I was given Julies number and after we had spoken, I decided to have a look over the BGT website and understand a little more about what a traineeship was. A traineeship is a little tricky to understand, but after talking to Julie and having a look at the website I understood the process and figure out how it all worked. I understood that as a trainee BGT was my employer, but that I would work for another business while completing my training. That was a bit intimidating as I didn’t understand how it worked. As a trainee, your contract is with BGT, and then you would have a host employer where you go to work and be in the industry. BGT handles all of the complicated things like organising superannuation, payment, workplace health and safety. This means that your host organisation can spend all their time working with you to learn the job. That means that I get to know the role and the team in a way that hopefully they might keep me on in the end. I did interview for a few positions that BGT recommended me for, but ended up working as the Receptionist at BGT which was an amazing opportunity.  Were you nervous about starting? I was terrified! I was so nervous as I hadn’t worked in three months and it was so different to anything I had ever done before. It was completely out of my comfort zone. I’d never done anything corporate. As I was working at the BGT reception, I already knew some of the staff and the consultants which made me feel much more at ease! Having a few familiar faces, and knowing I could go to somebody for help was so helpful. Everyone made me feel so welcome. This is the great thing about BGT. They check in with you. They call you on your first day, before and after you go and check in with you so you feel supported. I had no idea what the work would be. I was so nervous about what to wear having never been in a corporate environment without a uniform. Julie provided me with all the information on what to wear and what to get. BGT also supplied me with clothing so that I was ready. What was your first day like at BGT? It was really good! It was nothing like I thought it would be. For the first week I shadowed someone else and it gave me the chance to get comfortable. Everyone I met was so kind and welcoming. In the first few weeks, it’s just about learning the job. You don’t start taking on responsibilities for a week or two, or after all of the paperwork is complete. Once you ease into work and find out about the role, you might get stressed about your other responsibilities, but you’ve had the time to watch and learn. What was something that you thought might happen, but didn't? I thought the job would be a lot harder. I thought I’d never be able to get my head around things, or learn the processes, or what to do. Hudson, who I shadowed, reminded me that in my role on Reception at BGT you just had to experience it and learn as you go, and it would all come together in time. No two days were ever the same. What was your week like, generally? I worked Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, and did my three hours of study on a Friday afternoon when I felt like my concentration was at its best. I could choose when to do my study in my hours. In my role, I was dealing with walk in clients, diverting calls between departments, taking phone calls, doing my training and helping the team. I really loved going to visit the Industry Skills Centre on a Wednesday. It was a great way to break up my week, and I loved visiting another department and helping them.  What were your three biggest successes?
What were the biggest lessons you learned? I can do anything. I left school early and I thought I couldn’t really do anything like working in a corporate environment. Doing this traineeship really changed my mind on that. Getting the job at BGT was an amazing stepping stone and taught me that I am capable of anything. To always have a positive attitude. Even if the person you’re talking to isn’t having a great day, just having that positive attitude to them means that it won’t get to you as much. It won’t ruin your day. I also feel like I have improved my time management, computer skills and communication skills. What was something challenging that you took on and grew from? My jobs beforehand were casual, so there was a lot more variety in my days. Having my hours always be 9 – 5, it took me a while to get the balance right. It was a big change and it took me a while to get used to it. The whole day is work, so I found it tricky to make time for appointments, friends and family. I was able to use my leave entitlements as a full time worker, like annual leave, and the team were really flexible to help me cover any time I needed off. As I’d only been a casual worker before, when you don’t work you don’t get paid so this was an amazing difference.  How did it feel to look back on your traineeship? I’m glad I stuck it out! It was really difficult to complete my traineeship during the lockdowns of 2021. I tried my best to help other departments but there wasn’t a reception as we were working from home and I did think maybe I should look for something else where I am working more but it was a tough time for everyone. It was really hard not being able to work. I’m really glad I stuck with it as the support at BGT was just amazing and the silver lining is walking away with my traineeship and amazing experiences working at BGT. What is your proudest achievement from your traineeship? Securing a job at the end of my traineeship. I had to show them what I could do and prove my worth, and the BGT team were really supportive of me. Troy and Julie interviewed me and it was a really wonderful experience because we knew each other so well. It reminded me of my first interview with Julie and Sue and how kind everyone had been along the way. What are you doing now that you have finished? I’m now the Employment Services Administration Officer at BGT. I love it. It feels like a good step for me. While I was in reception, I started doing a lot of work for the Employment Services team so I was really comfortable. I wasn’t learning a whole new job in my new role which was really comforting.  What are three things you would tell someone wanting to start a traineeship at BGT?
Remember that BGT can help you with all of the searching and finding. If you go through BGT as part of their trainee process, they will keep putting you forward for opportunities. I did two interviews before finding a position at BGT, but they would have kept going for me if I was unsuccessful. They really help you through the job searching process without you having to constantly be hunting for jobs, re-writing your resume and doing all the running around. If you're interested in completing an Apprenticeship or Traineeship with BGT Jobs + Training Ballarat, please call us on (03) 5333 8600 or email us at [email protected]. |
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BGT Jobs + Training acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land and waters on which we teach, learn and grow, the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation; and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
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