“If you find a job you love, you’ll never work again” goes the old saying.
If that’s the case then the rest of Helen Vassallo’s life is set to be pretty relaxing.
“I really really love it,” gushed the 27 year old from Wyndham Vale about her new role as an administrative assistant with disability provider, the Rainbow Club.
“I come home and I tell my mum what I got up to at work and she just knows how much I love it. I’m just really really glad I got this job.”
As Ms Vassallo’s palpable enthusiasm demonstrates, this isn’t just any old job.
“It’s my first job out of my whole entire life” she said of the two day a week role which involves doing computer and paperwork and various other office tasks.
Along with working for a disability service, Ms Vassallo is disabled herself, something that thwarted her dreams of landing a job until she joined up with disability employment service, APM, earlier this year.
From there she secured a position at the Rainbow Club’s Laverton office.
APM’s Adrian Bradley said after 13-weeks of employment, the difference in Ms Vassallo was stark.
“Prior to commencing in her job, Helen would require the assistance of her support worker to attend her appointments,” he said.
“Helen’s confidence has grown, and she now attends her weekly Post Placement Support appointments on her own.”
Helen Vassallo is also now earning money, the best part of any job.
“It feels really, really amazing and I’m so happy because on the school holidays I just recently bought my own Ipad with my work money I saved up so that was really awesome,” she said.
As for other disabled people looking for work, her message is simple.
“My advice would be stay positive and don’t give up.”
