Caitlin was a YO Trainee from 2024 – 2026 and her experience changed her life. It was an amazing opportunity for her to get her foot into the door to a career without having any prior experience. Caitlin completed her Certificate 3 & 4 in Business over two years and has now gone on to a full-time job at Geared 4 Careers where she now gets to empower and help young people build a future just like she did.

Caitlin applied for the traineeship at YO Bendigo because she felt it was an opportunity for her to get her foot in the door to a career path. The traineeship offered her the opportunity to get hands on experience in the workforce getting a qualification at the same time, being a great pathway for her to start her career. 

She says, “The main thing I wanted out of the traineeship was experience; I was dedicated to learning and growing while in the traineeship and I think I achieved that.” 

It is an understatement to say that Caitlin gained a lot from the traineeship. She gained knowledge in a wide range of areas, confidence in herself and her abilities, found new passions for herself and became really excited and motivated about her future and what she could achieve.

Caitlin felt that her biggest challenge was really believing in herself and believing she was meant to be there, she felt a bit like an imposter sometimes in her role and had a hard time leaving her comfort zone. Luckily, she had a great team and supervisor that supported her out of that comfort zone and really pushed her to take great opportunities.

Caitlin is currently working as a Program Officer at Geared 4 Careers, this program is located in high schools to equip students with the skills and resources necessary for both education and employment, ensuring they are well prepared to pursue their chosen careers. Caitlin’s job is to ensure they have everything they need and are supported through the journey. Her traineeship at YO definitely helped her achieve where she is now.

 Caitlin says, “My traineeship at YO is where I found my passion for empowering youth and really made me want to take the step in that direction, it also gave me a lot of transferable skills that I use daily.”

The main skill that she took away from her traineeship was communication. Learning how to communicate differently when working with young people and adults at the same time, while all her administration and communication skills also come from her traineeship. Caitlin’s confidence also grew and it has stuck with her since leaving. 

Her traineeship 100% helped her discover what she liked and didn’t like. During her traineeship she got to experience a lot of different roles and see how things were done. It was a great place to be because she got to see so many different jobs and she really did figure out her strengths and what things interested her the most. It influenced Caitlin’s current role by letting her find her passion and confidence. 

If someone was thinking of applying for a traineeship, Caitlin always says to anyone that they should do a traineeship if they are in the position to do so. It can be amazing for anyone whether they are straight out of school or finding it later in life. It is a great pathway to learn and grow while getting experience and a qualification. 

Overall. Caitlin’s traineeship was a once in a lifetime experience, she grew so much as a person and met the best people in that role. She would do it 100 times over if she could.  So much of her growth professionally and personally is owed to her time in the YO Bendigo traineeship.