Skills Victoria

A traineeship was the foot in the door that Matter Machar needed to turn his passion for helping the community into a rewarding career.

Matter had previously completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Fisheries). He then decided to follow his interest in working with youth and completed a traineeship at the City of Greater Dandenong with a Certificate IV in Youth Work and Protective Care.

"The traineeship gave me the skills and knowledge I needed to work with young people, and with its flexible learning styles I achieved all the required competencies in the allocated time while working," Matter says.

Matter now continues to work in Dandenong, developing programs for multicultural young people to improve family and social support in the local community.

"Seeing that I am helping young people make the right decisions about their future is the best thing about my job," he says. Matter's passion for youth work and his dedication to his study resulted in him being named 2008 Australian Apprentice (Trainee) of the Year.

"This whole process has shown me that you don’t have to go to university and graduate with a degree to get your dream job. There are many different career pathways you can follow," he says.

And Matter's career journey isn't over yet. He now plans to build on the skills he gained in his traineeship and do further studies in teaching.