Moving from CDEP to a job
Your Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) program experience is valuable.
By participating in CDEP, you have been working on an activity that contributes to your community and develops your skills, such as team work, punctuality and communication.
These skills are very valuable to employers.
Why look for a job outside CDEP?
CDEP provides a stepping stone to employment by helping you develop your skills and increase your employability. By getting a job off CDEP, you will improve your ability to support yourself and your family in the future, while providing you with the opportunity to engage in the wider community.
How to find a job
Speak to your CDEP manager or supervisor and let them know you want to find work off CDEP. They can put you in touch with a local employer or help you make contact with a Job Network member.
Your Job Network member can help you write a résumé, apply for a job and find work outside of CDEP.
Work experience and on-the-job training could get you a full-time job. Your CDEP may also be able to arrange work experience or a host employment arrangement with a local employer to further increase your chance of getting a job. You can work with a host employer for up to 12 months.
If you can access the Internet, you can go to JobSearch to find a job in your local area.
Get a Wage Assistance card
Employers who employ Indigenous job seekers may get Wage Assistance which means that for the first 26 weeks that you are in a job, they will get help with paying some of your wages. Speak to your Job Network member about getting a Wage Assistance card because it may make it easier for you to find work.
Don’t forget:
- your skills are important to employers looking for workers
- a job outside CDEP will give you more skills
- talk to your CDEP manager or supervisor about work outside of CDEP or Job Network
- getting a Wage Assistance card may make it easier for you to get a job.
This case study is about a Jay, a job seeker who used CDEP as a stepping stone to get work outside of CDEP and a chance to earn a better wage. He learned important job skills through CDEP and really enjoys his work.
Jay started on CDEP in 2000. He had a very good driving record and his CDEP organisation got him a job as a bus driver at the local Aboriginal health clinic.
Jay liked his job but he really wanted to be a bricklayer. In February 2003 his CDEP manager helped him start in a construction apprenticeship. The following year, Jay won the Construction and Training Council Encouragement award for his good efforts.
Jay has overcome the cultural barriers that can exist and is respected as a leader. His supervisors and work mates think a lot of him and he now helps other apprentices with their work. Jay said CDEP helped him a lot.
They gave me an important start in my bricklaying apprenticeship. I am now in the final year of my apprenticeship and once I finish, I would like to start my own business and help out other Koori fellas.
To find out about this program, visit your local Job Network member or call 1802 102.
More information about CDEP