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Ethan Revs Up For The Future With SLES

We are thrilled to celebrate some very exciting news for one of our School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES) participants at Blue Tongue Pathways! 

After making an incredible impression during work experience at Aussie Tyres and Mechanical Toowoomba, 18-year-old Ethan Byrnes has been offered a mechanical apprenticeship. 

“I’m so keen!” says Ethan enthusiastically. 

“I love it there. The people make it a really fun place to work.” 

Ethan has been a car lover from a young age, and is now thriving in the workshop environment. 

“I started out cleaning, but now I change tyres, and help fix up engines … we do motorbikes and quaddies [quad bikes] too,” he says.  

“If the guys there show me what to do, I can easily do it. If they just tell me, it might take a while. But these blokes, they show me and I’m straight on it.” 

A Holistic Approach to SLES

It’s clear Ethan is revving up for a bright future in a hands-on role, but he’s worked hard to get to this point in the NDIS-funded SLES program, to build his skills and independence. 

“We did group work about things like time management, and money management – learning what to do with our money, how to budget and how to make sure we’re putting some away,” he explains confidently. 

Read more about the SLES program 

Blue Tongue Pathways Toowoomba coordinator, Christina Renata, couldn’t be prouder of Ethan. 

“The mechanics tell me, ‘he wants to learn, and he asks questions’ and I love that. Ethan’s got a real hunger and eagerness to learn,” she says.  

“He’s full steam ahead and they’re very impressed”. 

A Bridge Between School and Work for NDIS Participants

It’s a world away from where Ethan was when he finished school. With no particular plans or direction, he was spending a lot of time at home doing, as he says, ‘nothing’. 

“I actually wasn’t too keen at first when Mum told me about [Blue Tongue Pathways SLES program], but I said, ‘ok, I’ll give it a go’ and I’m so happy. I love it so much,” he says. 

Christina, too, is thrilled at how far how far Ethan has come, along with his friends in the SLES program.  

“That’s what I want for these guys, just to be proud of themselves, to have that smile on their faces and say ‘I’ve achieved that’. It’s awesome to see.” 

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Nick Connects With His SLES Goals

Nineteen-year old Nick Webster is a young man with a clear career focus already! He loves all things IT, from repairing computers, to computer networking, and he has goals to study for IT qualifications and eventually run his own business.  

But he knows there are a few areas where he’ll need a little extra support to achieve his goals.  

That’s where his NDIS-funded School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES) with Blue Tongue Pathways come in. 

Nick sits at a table with various pieces of computer equipment in front of him. He has a piece open and is fixing the inner workings of the computer.

First Steps on the Pathway

Working closely with Nick, Blue Tongue Pathways Coordinator Christina Renata has found a supportive work experience environment where he can develop the particular skills he needs around routines, organisation and time management. That has led to him taking his first steps at All Styles Gym Toowoomba. 

“It’s helping me understand health, and getting into the routine of working, and the mindset of how much I can do before burnout. It’s a ground point of where to start,” Nick explains. 

He attends each Tuesday, and has a regular list of tasks to complete, including cleaning and preparing equipment and organising the space.  

“I like to challenge myself. It used to take me an hour, but now it only takes me 30 minutes to complete the entire gym,” Nick says proudly. 

“It’s challenging, but it’s good. I appreciate the routine, and I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do anymore, I know what I have to do to get all my work done.” 

 

Progress in a Supportive Space

Christina says the gym is a wonderfully inclusive environment for Nick to develop his workplace skills.  

“Michael, who runs the gym, is actually legally blind. So, it’s been good for Nick to see that your disability doesn’t have to define you. And Nick can feel comfortable here wearing his headphones for sensory comfort while he works,” she says. 

“Michael’s really fun,” Nick says. “He can be a bit strict, but that’s good for me with routines, as I can get a bit distracted.” 

With Nick making such strong progress, Christina is now investigating IT-related placements for him. 

Nick holds a punching bag steady so he can clean it.

“It’s important for our SLES participants to try different things,” she says. “I find they’ll either love the options, or hate them – but it’s good to try and know for sure.” 

Nick is also working steadily through small-group work at Blue Tongue Pathways, developing life and job skills. 

“Before SLES I had no idea how to do an interview, build a resume, or how to keep a routine or schedule. Now I’ve learned about time management, money management, and organisational skills. It’s fun too; we role play job interviews, and practice money management with Monopoly,” he smiles.  

“I’ve also made flow sheets for how to get my CCNA, which is a type of certificate in networking and IT,” Nick explains. 

“SLES has really helped with finding my direction.” 

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Deena Flexes her Muscles in SLES

In those final moments of a circuit workout, it’s common to see people puffing, exhausted, and maybe even struggling to complete the last few exercises. 

But not Deena Katawazi.  

With a broad smile on her face, Deena charges ahead of the pack in short sprints, and holds a ‘wall-sit’ position even longer than instructed.  It’s instantly clear that she loves exercise and fitness – and she has a firm career goal in this industry in mind. 

“I want to be a Personal Trainer”, she says confidently. “And I want to work here.” 

Deena holds a 'wall-sit' exercise position, with her back pressed against a wall and her knees bent. She is smiling.

Hands-on SLES Work Experience 

Deena has recently started regular work experience and familiarisation at Velocity Fitness and Health at Capalaba, as part of her NDIS-funded School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES) with Blue Tongue Pathways.  Taking part in circuit workouts helps her to learn about different exercises and the areas they target.  

“My favourite is the wall-sit,” she says. “It really works your leg muscles.” 

Deena’s work experience has also included helping to keep the gym clean and tidy, as well as shadowing other trainers as they lead high-intensity classes – and she can’t hide her enthusiasm to learn and do more. 

“She’s been a great team player, and is always keen to take on new tasks and learn to use all the equipment,” says Blue Tongue Pathways coordinator, Mitch Brennan. 

“We’ve received great feedback from Deena’s supervisor, and they rave about her positive, give-it-a-go attitude when helping to facilitate and participate in sessions.” 

Deena sprints across an open space at the gym. Other people in her exercise class can be seen around the edges of the image.

A Big SLES Step

For Deena, this work experience is a milestone step in her SLES journey with Blue Tongue Pathways, which supports young adults with disabilities to develop their job readiness skills. Her involvement in small group workshops has helped build towards this work experience by: 

  • developing independence skills, including numeracy and literacy to lay the groundwork for workplace skills 
  • learning about workplace skills in general, such as presentation, professionalism and work ethic 
  • studying the skills and requirements she’ll need to become a personal trainer.  

To hone her knowledge in fitness, health and wellness, Deena took online classes, and created workout and stretch routines, which she guided fellow participants and coordinators through.  

“Those workouts always got the blood pumping!” says Mitch.  

“And for Deena they required planning, practice, and leadership skills to deliver challenging but accessible classes to her peers.” 

To witness Deena in action in the gym, it’s clear she’s up for the challenge. She’s excited to get back to the gym each week for her work experience, and to constantly learn, grow, and go far in this industry. 

“It’s hard work,” she says, breaking into another huge smile. “But it’s so much fun!” 

 

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SLES with Blue Tongue Pathways: Grow your independence and job skills

Finishing school is such an exciting time, full of opportunity! But if you’re not quite ready for the world of work, NDIS-funded SLES (School Leaver Employment Supports) is there to help you make a smooth transition, and develop the skills you need to get job-ready and chase your goals. And in the Blue Tongue Pathways SLES service, we’re all about the big picture, helping you grow in all the areas you need, to get on the pathway to success.   

“Independence skill-building is at the crux of it,” explains facilitator Mitch Brennan. “After all, that’s a foundation for life.” 

“Then we branch out from there, to work on getting job-ready!” 

Putting You On Your Chosen Pathway 

The two-year Pathways program starts out with a focus on building your confidence,  interpersonal skills, and communication skills – taking a holistic approach to developing your independent living skills. And it’s a chance to really narrow down your goals and how to go about pursuing them.  

In the second half of the program, it’s about implementing what you’ve learned, putting your skills into practice. This could include volunteering, work experience, or paid employment. 

SLES supports are customised to your own unique job goals and needs, but you’ll also benefit from working in a small group setting. 

“The start of the day in Blue Tongue’s SLES service is workshop-style, with group-led discussions. It’s great for relationship-building and team-building, and gets our participants really engaged,” Mitch says.   

“The topics of discussion might centre around expectations of a workplace, hygiene and presentation, time management, internet use and cyber safety, through to workplace health and safety. We even cover independence skills like opening bank accounts, paying cash vs credit, how to vote, or applying for a rental.”  

After a morning spent in theory-based workshops, it’s time to dive into hands-on, practical work. This is done with 1:1 or 1:2 support, depending on your needs and preferences. 

“That might be work experience. It might be mock job interviews,” says Mitch. “Sometimes it’s learning how to use public transport to get to work on time. It could mean attending a workshop and then coming back to practice the skills you learned.” 

Your Goals, Your Choices 

When you have a goal to work in a particular industry, Blue Tongue Pathways is deeply dedicated to supporting you to pursue it. Across our Brisbane and Toowoomba centres, our current SLES participants have a diverse range of job goals on the go. 

“We have a few guys who’ve just got white cards and forklift tickets. Hands-on, warehouse work is really popular. We have many who want to work with animals, one who wants to be a personal trainer … and one who’d like to be a train driver, so we’re working with Queensland Rail on that,” Mitch says.  

“They’re all really achievable goals – and we’re there to help get the ball rolling for them.” 

Support Every Step Of The Way 

Mitch’s skills and background as a social worker are a big part of his strengths as our SLES facilitator.  

“My advocacy skills from social work have come into play, to liaise with stakeholders, and create opportunities for our participants,” he says. 

“Also, I can pick up on nuanced barriers that might be in play. There could be mental health issues that affect confidence, or their ability to articulate what they need.  

“Some of our participants come in with goals that they feel they can’t achieve because of their disability.”  

“We can build their confidence and say ‘your disability is not your problem. Disability only exists because society won’t cater for you properly. It’s not on you to make room for others. Society needs to become more accessible for you.’ And you can really see their motivation lift when they understand that,” he says. 

Contact the team on hello@bluetonguepathways.com.au to find out more, and discuss a SLES service to put you on the pathway to achieving your goals! 

  • SLES stands for School Leaver Employment Supports. 
  • It is an NDIS funded support for senior school students and young adults with disabilities. Participants are generally 18-20 years old, but the cutoff age is usually 22. 
  • It assists participants in making a smooth transition from school to working life. 
  • SLES is generally funded for two years, under the NDIS support category Finding And Keeping A Job. 
  • To be eligible for the funding, you need to have goals in your NDIS plan such as “looking for work” or “building work readiness skills” 
  • SLES is a flexible support service, tailored to your individual needs and goals (it is not a formalised ‘course’). Progress is measured with regular check-ins with you, support workers and stakeholders to see how you’re progressing against your goals, and identify any areas that need further focus. 
  • Our SLES service runs from 9 am to 3 pm, and participants attend one or two days a week.