Amaz-ing Opportunities: How the Work Education program opens doors for students

Preparing for your future career comes with a lot of decisions. With so many possibilities and pathways, it’s not unusual for the prospect of the corporate world to seem daunting.

Our Work Education courses are designed to get students ready to take their first steps into full or part-time employment.

Melbourne Polytechnic graduate, Rebecca Hope, is helping us take things a step further and carve out even more opportunities for our Work Education students.

Rebecca completed a Certificate IV in Business at Melbourne Polytechnic through a traineeship with NECA Education and Careers. In her role within the Victorian Public Sector, she developed the skills needed to secure a position with Amaze and advance in her chosen field of Human Resources

On reflection, she found the course instrumental in leading her through her career journey.

“Melbourne Polytechnic has a very supportive culture that was great with individual needs and able to support me appropriately,” says Rebecca.

The business graduate went on to win ‘Trainee of the Year’ at the 2023 Victorian Training Awards, a commendation that affirmed her hard work and proved her capability.

Rebecca, who is neuro diverse, has overcome many personal challenges in educational and work environments. It is this lived experience that spurred her forward and informed her career.

Rebecca now works at Amaze – the peak body for Victoria’s Autistic community – and most recently, has collaborated with Melbourne Polytechnic to offer students “Work Placement at Amaze Program”.

“I saw that there weren’t a lot of opportunities for students in Work Education type courses to gain meaningful work experience, particularly in corporate environments,” she recalls.

“Students are often willing and very much able to undertake the work, but there’s a limited number of employers that can facilitate the opportunities."

The pride and joy of the program is Work Education student, Lukas Duffy who is currently completing the Certificate I in Work Education Ignition Theatre 22566VIC.

“Growing up, I didn’t know I was autistic and that made high school a bit of a challenge,” says Lukas.

“After I was diagnosed, things got a bit clearer and finding Melbourne Polytechnic really helped! It was a place where nothing was too difficult or too simple and everyone was really nice. It became a home away from home.” 

Lukas aspires to become an actor, following in the footsteps of many of his family members in arts and entertainment.

“Amaze has been a great place to start, I’d only ever heard boring things about office jobs and this place, quite frankly, is the complete opposite!” says Lukas.

He continues, “I learn something new every day here. But apart from that, it’s refreshing to be in an environment where no one writes me off or doesn’t believe in my skills. It’s amazing to feel so understood and supported!”

Rebecca describes Lukas as an absolute dynamo in the program, praising him for his focus, high-quality work, charisma and positive attitude.

Her hope for the “Work Placement at Amaze Program”, is that it can continue to open doors for students seeking a supportive entry point into the work environment.

“Autistic people are often quite significantly underrepresented in the employment market,” she says, “the fact that we’re able to develop young people’s employability and begin breaking that cycle is really close to our hearts at Amaze”.

The placement is open to Work Education students who are eager to get a taste of what an office environment is like while learning about all the different tasks involved.

Lukas advises anyone considering signing up: "Keep an open mind, show up on time, do your best and be yourself.”

To learn more about how our courses can prepare you for the workforce or further study, visit our Work Education webpage.