Adrian has had to face a few more obstacles than the average person in his lifetime. Hailing from South Australia, he suffers from vision and hearing loss, bursitis, arthritis, heart disease and diabetes; which led to his right leg and finger being amputated.
“I met Adrian 3 years ago and he hadn’t had employment in over 10 years due to his health concerns. His confidence was really taking a hit,” explained WISE Employment Consultant Lily.
Adrian previously worked as an electrician and mechanical fitter with a strong interest in the tech and manufacturing industry. Together with Lily, Adrian began to focus on finding a job he would really love.
Lily also directed Adrian to Esher House’s strength and resilience program, helping him pick up skill sets through behavioural science assessment technology.
When he landed the role as a process and production worker at Linkage SA in mid-2021, it was a perfect fit. Day to day, Adrian strips down all electricals at Linkage – from computers, motherboards, printers and TVs – and is responsible for recycling the plastic, metals and circuit boards from these products into different categories.
“The team I work with are really friendly and supportive, and if anyone ever needs someone to talk to, they know they can come straight to me,” says Adrian.
Even when Adrian had to take some time off with his amputation, the team held his position and were waiting with open arms on his return to work.
“It’s given him a purpose, and although he loves and is perfectly suited to the work, the social aspect is what gets him out of bed every day. His colleagues have become his close friends and he loves to socialise with the team,” explains Lily.
Adrian has trouble standing up for long periods of time, so WISE provided him with a static chair and armrests to allow him to do his job sitting down as well as hi-vis gear for him to wear on-site.
Although Adrian’s list of barriers to employment was long, he’s never let that get in the way of his positive attitude.
When asked if he’d recommend WISE to those struggling to find employment, Adrian responded without hesitation, “I absolutely would. They’re a nice bunch of people and they actually care about you. They take your worries and concerns on board and help you get to where you want to be.”
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