There are many reasons why someone may consider their job meaningful. Someone may love their job because they are working in an industry they are interested in, or it allows them to sustain a lifestyle they enjoy, or it helps them become more independent.
For job seeker Luke, meaningful work was a job that allowed him to utilise his vast skill set and niche interests.
Luke has many different qualifications including a pyrotechnician licence, a drone pilot’s licence, and various electrical and lighting licences.
He was able to use these skills to find sporadic work and volunteered for the local Lismore community theatre as a lighting technician. However, he was struggling to find consistent paid work in a role that interested him.
Luke connected with Disability Employment Service provider EPIC Assist (EPIC) to access extra support to help him find meaningful work.
“Often EPIC hear about jobs before they become more publicly known, so it’s great to have someone like EPIC keeping an active eye on jobs for you because they may know about jobs long before anyone else does,” says Luke.
EPIC was able to set up an interview for an editing role at The Memory Bank.
The Memory Bank converts and restores old analogue-based media into digital formats.
However, during the interview when Luke mentioned to co-owner and manager Delilah that he knew how to fix small appliances a new role was created for him on the spot.
“When he mentioned he can also fix small appliances and we were like, ‘YES! You are the man we need,’” says Delilah.
Luke now has consistent, permanent work at The Memory Bank as a technician where he repairs broken machines and film equipment. It is an interesting and challenging role because it is not always clear why the machine is broken.
“A lot of the machines are very old, older than my parents. They don’t have technical manuals, it’s educated guesswork and figuring it out as you go,” says Luke.
Luke enjoys problem-solving and is entertained by the challenge of coming up with new ideas of how to fix what is broken.
“You cannot buy parts for a lot of the machines, so you have to try and find a part from another machine or somewhere else to make it work. I have used everything from fishing line to dental floss to aircraft glue.
“I have learnt many new skills since working here. I have worked on so many machines that I’ve never seen, let alone heard of. Some of the machines are very mechanical, so I’ve built up my mechanical skills.”
Getting to work in an environment where he is challenged daily is something Luke loves, and he is excited to continue working at The Memory Bank long into the future.
“I think being here is great. Delilah has indicated that I’m never allowed to leave, so I think I will be here for a while keeping things functioning. It is an interesting line of work, it keeps me very entertained and there is always a problem to solve.”
Luke is incredibly thankful to the EPIC team for finding this job and continuing to support him after gaining employment.
“I had never heard of The Memory Bank before, so without EPIC I wouldn’t have known about the opportunity.”
EPIC Assist is a Disability Employment Service (DES) provider that helps people with a disability, injury, mental health condition, or health condition find work.
If you are looking for meaningful work that utilises your skills or special interests, contact EPIC today. We can help you find not just any job, but a job you love.
