Working with young people in the Job Services sector, Sarah Davis sees first hand the value of getting a job and the contribution young people can make to their own lives, as well as to the wider community.
I love my job. I support young people to get work. I love seeing the transformation that occurs when they start working – some for the first time, others after some work experience through school or voluntary work. They walk a little taller, feel more confident, have a solidness about them that was always there but seems to come out more.
Learning new skills and having experiences certainly grows us as individuals. But it is more than that. When you work, you contribute. When you work you are in relationship with others and the world. Work gives us purpose, and whatever it is that we may be doing - hospitality, retail, construction or administration - that purpose is to bring ourselves to the world.
Everyone has their own expression to bring. A young woman I know is quiet as she serves coffees and the customers love the fact that she remembers their name and what they want. Another young woman is outgoing and talks openly with her customers about her dogs at home and what she did on the weekend. They love her openness and the fact that she seems interested in their life too. Another young woman I know works really well in a team and is naturally a leader of others through her respect, sense of equality and honesty.
I love my job. I support young people to get work. I love seeing the transformation that occurs when they start working – some for the first time, others after some work experience through school or voluntary work. They walk a little taller, feel more confident, have a solidness about them that was always there but seems to come out more.
Learning new skills and having experiences certainly grows us as individuals. But it is more than that. When you work, you contribute. When you work you are in relationship with others and the world. Work gives us purpose, and whatever it is that we may be doing - hospitality, retail, construction or administration - that purpose is to bring ourselves to the world.
Everyone has their own expression to bring. A young woman I know is quiet as she serves coffees and the customers love the fact that she remembers their name and what they want. Another young woman is outgoing and talks openly with her customers about her dogs at home and what she did on the weekend. They love her openness and the fact that she seems interested in their life too. Another young woman I know works really well in a team and is naturally a leader of others through her respect, sense of equality and honesty.
We all have something unique and special to bring to the world – the essence of who we are.
Work is a great way to do this as it brings us out into relationship with the world and other people. And then there’s earning money – what a great thing that is! You can buy your own things, shape your own future and save to build independence like a car or house deposit.
Perhaps the most inspiring thing I see emerge as the young people I work with get a job, is that the fact that they ‘walk a little taller’. It is as though they feel more valued and valuable through working – and to me this comes from contributing (we are born to work!), but also from discovering things about yourself as you interact with the world through work. When challenges arise, observing how you respond to them. When you learn a new skill, appreciating that and also encouraging yourself if you are having a tough day.
Being in life through work is great as you learn and grow, but also the world gets you and the essence that you bring. So everybody benefits.
By Sarah Davis, Youth Workshop Facilitator, Job Services
Photography by Dean Whitling
