My time at SLES has come to an end and my new adventure with supported employment begins.

My name is Kyle. When I first started the SLES program it was a whole new experience working in the warehouse, which was something that I hadn’t done before. Throughout my time here I have had school friends come and go, but now I have really close friends that I am happy to call my friends. Plus, I have this really good teacher/mentor Brittany. When I first started here at Mambourin I actually wasn’t with Brittany. I was with Andrew first, doing a certificate in warehousing course, where I did workbooks.

Throughout this whole experience I have learnt how to do some new stuff and old stuff like Australia Post boxes, show bags, placing seeds in boxes and nuts and bolts. One of my most impressive things would be my travel training skills, going from A to B and then helping my friends catch public transport.

One thing that I am going to miss in SLES is that we are one big family stuck together no matter what. We all know how to have a good old laugh. When I started in 2018 I was new to everything down in the warehouse. But I didn’t give up even if I didn’t know what I was doing, I always gave new stuff a go first, and now I am starting employment with the gardening team.

When you are down in the warehouse you are allowed to talk but work at the same time. Sometimes me and my friends got a little carried away. Sometimes we don’t even know how it started. It’s going to be weird for me starting something away from good pals. I am really happy about how far I have come, from 2018 to now with all of my skills I developed over the years and all the friends I have made.

I have graduation coming up where I will get to celebrate with my friends one last time, which will be a big bang of emotions: we will cry, laugh, smile and cry crocodile tears. Brittany has been amazing and helped me through all the different stages of SLES, making sure I achieve everything I can.  What I am trying to say is Brittany has been amazing and so has my SLES family. She helped us stay positive and by being happy with everyone, she helped us all with the different stages of life we were at.

Thanks guys!

To find out more about our SLES program visit our School Leaver Employment Support page.  We also have an FAQ on how SLES works to help answer your questions.

Want to know if SLES is right for you? Contact one of our friendly team members on 9731 9200 or email us at hello@mambourin.org