Recently we hosted 30 high school students as part of Pillars for Success, a program designed to provide a range of work ready skills and experiences and to support students with their future career pathway.

The Brocas team, our youth centre, worked with local high schools, Seaton and Findon High, and the Multicultural Communities Council of SA on the program which involved work ready skills, work experience and even staff development, to assist them with the mentoring opportunities working with young people.

A number of sessions were held with City of Charles Sturt staff as they shared interview processes, tips for resume writing and then students spent a week with a staff member who took them through the day to day tasks of the role. This experience was designed for students to gain practical experience in a work place and to raise awareness of the range and variety of careers that council offers

Following a warm welcome by Mayor Angela Evans and CEO Paul Sutton, students were placed in areas of interest across the organisation which included our Libraries, Field Services, Engineering and Community Centre teams.

Mikaela partnered with our Economic Development team and, with an interest in a future career in business and entrepreneurship she really enjoyed obtaining a better understanding of the work that goes on behind the scenes and the different roles that people have.

“(I’ve felt) really accepted into the environment and it's also given me ideas for the broader approach I need to take to do what I want to do.”

The students weren’t the only ones who benefited, with their Charles Sturt mentors enjoying being part of helping a young person to get a real life understanding of the workforce and help prepare to take that next step.

This project has received funding from the Department of Human Services Youth-led COVID-19 Recovery Grants and administered by the Local Government Association of South Australia.