Yuko is a 43-year-old lady. She was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan. Yuko speaks with great fondness of her hometown which she compares to Adelaide. She describes it as similar in a demographic sense although Nagoya does have a bullet train.

Yuko spoke no English upon arrival and promptly enrolled in an English language course. It was a daunting task to learn a brand-new language from scratch and Yuko says it took five years to become fluent. The first year was hard! The second year she was guessing words from people talking in English by their gestures but by year the third year she could see her guesses were becoming more accurate! Yuko knew she had a firm grasp by the fifth year when was able to express her vibrant humour and make jokes in English.

Yuko enrolled in and completed a Diploma in Tourism Management in Melbourne in 2004. She recognised even though her grasp of the English language had improved by this stage she was still coming to grips with the grammar and punctuation involved when writing in English. Completing a diploma is no mean feat but achieving this in a newly learned language is quite incredible.

Yuko worked as a hotel room attendant from 2019 until the pandemic hit. This disaster hit the tourism sector especially hard and forced Yuko out of work. Dome Japanese friends first made Yuko aware of the Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre (BNC). Being on a jobseeker payment due to forced redundancy she thought why not access any services which may help her get back into the workforce.

Lisa was her advisor and made an instant impact on Yuko’s life. During those initial interactions Yuko expressed a desire to try some different career options. After conversations around her aspirations, she decided to apply for jobs in aged care settings. Lisa along with Shandelle helped Yuko to tailor her resume and cover letters to apply for this line of work.

It was not long before Yuko found work in a residential setting. This residence and the organisation were not what she had envisioned. According to Yuko, it didn’t take long to realise there were many toxic traits in culture and practices displayed by the Center.

There was also a lack of flexibility offered between work and personal life, the environment was not a pleasant one. Yuko said after working 6 months as a casual employee and 18 months as a permanent, she decided to move on and find something more fulfilling.

The next stage on Yuko’s journey was working as a disability support worker. This lasted for around a year but did not suit her hard-working nature as the job consisted of a lot of down time while on shift. Yuko at this stage decided it was time to reassess her career options and decided to reach out to Lisa and Shandelle at BNC for some more mentoring and advice.

BNC helped Yuko to gain some further education by signing up for a Certificate IV in Community Service. This would act to open more doors in an industry which Yuko was familiar with and was accumulating valuable experience in different sectors. While studying towards this accreditation Yuko was still applying for jobs and she was offered an opportunity with a well-known agency providing services for at risk youth. She is presently working for this agency on a casual basis and has now completed the Certificate IV. She is very happy with life and work at present.

Something Yuko remarked upon is, BNC and the staff, especially Shandelle and Lisa, have given her a sense of clarity and direction in her career path. She is now working in a fulfilling position of responsibility which gives her a real sense of job satisfaction. She wanted to add BNC and especially her amazing mentors Shandelle and Lisa have given her so many amazing and positive experiences whether that be social or professional but most of all practical guidance which has helped to empower her and realise her potential.

We know the journey towards a destination is as important as the destination itself. Regardless of how you Connect with us, we will travel this journey with you; sharing your highs and lows, the good and the bad times, and working with you to help you Learn and Participate.

This story was captured by John in December 2023 as a student placement project for his Bachelor of Community and Human Services degree. Names may be changed.