“People around me say I have got the spark back again,” says Lindsay Baker who recently started work as a retail sales assistant with Hervey Bay Auto Parts. “STEPS not only found me a job, they helped me find myself again.”
Lindsay was 18 months off work with a back injury and was afraid of being “pensioned off at 50”. “After having worked all my life it was a shock to the system to have to say I couldn’t work and that took a while to accept. I wanted to prove the doctors wrong and prove to myself that I could get back into the workforce,” he says.
After the rehabilitation that followed his accident, he faced the daunting prospect of finding a job with hours and conditions that he could manage, but he was keen to work, and after struggling through various job agencies, finally found his way to STEPS.
“I was still confident after the accident but after 30 or 40 interviews I was getting worn down and it all got on top of me,” he says. “I was doing a computer course and applying for jobs that I thought I could do but realistically I couldn’t.” He visited his STEPS consultant regularly, and believes he has been well-matched with his work at Hervey Bay Auto Parts, a small family owned business.
He says that “after calling in for a chat, away we went” – and he’s now working eight hours a week. “I thought of auto parts as I have a mechanical background but I’ve been out of the trade for more than 20 years which is far too long to get back in,” he says. “I am still getting familiar with all the new products but it is coming back to me. I’m working on stock and stock rotation.”
Lindsay said as well as having something he looks forward to doing, he has also got his mind working again and with the help of STEPS, he has also come to understand and accept his limits in working hours and the pitfalls of pushing his pain barriers. “The backup from STEPS is fantastic. This is a lifesaver to me. I’ve gone from lowest of low to thinking about work the next morning when I go to bed,” he says. “I am really excited by this opportunity and I’m loving it. STEPS has been a big help to me.”
