During the last quarter of 2020, Anglicare Victoria partnered with the Victorian Government through the Working for Victoria (WFV) Fund to employ 88 staff in a range of roles for a six month period. The scheme offers those that were out of work due to the pandemic faster access to employment. AV was fortunate to attract a wide range of talented and passionate employees, all of whom immediately started working to improve the lives of others. The WVF staff were appointed and trained in financial wellbeing counselling and community support positions, and important back of house roles in HR, IT and finance. The staff have had a big positive impact on the lives of our clients and been exemplary in their dedication and enthusiasm towards their work.
Nine of the 88 funded roles were employed in the North Metro Community Support Services Program, expanding the support we offer Victorians struggling with the financial impacts of COVID-19. Maxx, one of our WFV Financial Wellbeing workers received training to support clients with budgeting, making informed financial decisions, and where necessary, triaging where more specialist services are required. Maxx said, “It’s been a really good experience, I’m a trained electrician, and have a background in IT, so it’s quite different. Instead of solving the immediate problem, we are about building independence; I’ve gained a positive life experience out of working for AV. I’m now looking into education to continue work in family services.”
The WFV staff have contributed their unique skills to AV in every way they could including teaching Zumba classes, translating AV communications into Arabic, building corporate partnerships, and creating recipe books. Many of the WFV staff provided frontline support where it was urgently needed. This included working across dedicated hotlines to assist nearly 1,000 people in need with food and material aid, financial wellness advice and providing holistic general assessment and referrals.
Alyssa started with AV’s WFV staff in late September as Team Leader for the Metro region after her role as Customer Service Manager at Qantas was put on hold. “I’ve never experienced such an amazing onboarding process, and I have done recruitment for a number of years. I think AV should be used as the perfect example of doing it right. Even if I didn’t get the role, I would have wanted to work for AV in the future. AV lives and breathes it, diversity and inclusion. I have learnt so much. My eyes have been opened!”
