Empowered Collective Australia teaches job seeker skills through Women's Return To Work Program

"I've worked all my life and really missing it, really missing being interactive with people," the ex-aged care nurse said, as she sat in the Bega Regional Learning Centre in Merimbula, on Thursday, October 19.

"I'm putting myself out there to maybe reinvent my little working life, [and] not working is quite hard for me, I've still got energy to do that, so why not."

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Yowrie resident Nalla said she wasn't in a position to retire, but bravely attended the workshop hoping the course would be a catalyst to a change of career.

"I've been working in really high, intensive services, working with homeless refugees, asylum seekers, drug and alcohol, and I was working with mental health in the community, then the fires came, and it's just given me the strength to say, 'I can't do this anymore,'" she said.

"I need to do something different, and I don't really know where to start, and it's really hard to be thinking about reinventing yourself when you're 60."

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In collaboration with the NSW Government, St Vincent de Paul Society of Canberra and Goulburn, the director and founder of Empowered Collective Australia, Deborah Fulton said the workshops running three Thursdays in a row were welcoming and supportive.

"I worked for federal government for 16 years and recruited staff to work in my team and in the private sector as well, and of course I recruit staff for my own team," Ms Fulton said.

"So I spend a lot of time looking at resumes, thousands of resumes, lots of interviews, I've attended interviews myself, of course, and won jobs and no won jobs as well.

"But I give that [understanding] from a hiring manager's perspective about how to navigate through and what [they're] looking for."

The first workshop covered applying for jobs by teaching those often daunting tasks like drafting and writing cover letters and resumes, the second workshop will delve deeper into how to prepare for job interviews, while the third workshop looks at personal workplace presentation, each has lunch provided.

Empowered Collective Australia said it can assist with a petrol voucher for transport costs, and cover childcare or respite care costs too, allowing more women to attend.

Participants were not required to attend all three workshops, with the next two running from 10am to 2pm at Bega Regional Learning Centre at 14 Cabarita Place in Merimbula on Thursday, October 26 and November 2.

For more information or to register, click here or call 0491 015 595

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