On track to career success

Jaydah and Namarra are working with our Education First Youth Foyer program after completing a paid internship which links pre-professional Indigenous university students with employers.

Congratulations to Jaydah and Namarra. They are working with our Education First Youth Foyer program after recently completing a paid internship, brokered through CareerTrackers which links pre-professional Indigenous university students with employers.

Jaydah and Namarra have each accepted part time roles at our Broadmeadows foyer, while they complete their university studies. Our Youth Foyer program provides secure accommodation and other supports to young people who are at risk of homelessness while they undertake tertiary study. During the internship they developed content for online training, and worked closely with staff to support young people to move into the Foyer.

Jaydah is studying a Bachelor of Youth Work. She is a Marranuggu woman from the Daly River region of the Northern Territory, and grew up in Darwin. ‘I went to a school in the rural area and I tried to learn as much about my culture as I possibly could. My Nana is a big part of learning about culture. She always shares stories about her life and passes her knowledge on. She has always taken my brother and I to visit family mob out bush, and taken us camping and fishing.’

She says the internship helped her establish networks in the youth work sector. ‘For my career, networking is an important part of career success. It has also helped me know that youth work is definitely something really rewarding to me and something I want to continue doing in the future,’ she said.

Namarra is from the Briakalong clan of Gunai/Kurnai, in Gippsland, and the Taungurung clan of the Kulin nation, of Melbourne and surrounds.

She is studying a Bachelor of International Relations and a Double Diploma in Arabic and French, and hopes to work internationally for the Australian Government.

‘My career goal is to work in a place that I enjoy, and I can positively say I am working towards a better future for all Australians, by protecting minorities, Indigenous culture, the land, the environment, free speech and women’s rights.’