Volunteer Experiences

Christian Vidal

MY EXPERIENCE AT YWAS...

After 10 weeks of English classes at the University of Queensland, the second part of the SEP-Vanguardia Program was to perform an internship at Young Workers Advisory Service (YWAS). I did not know the meaning of this new experience or the extent of its consequences but I definitely knew that it was going to be a challenge.

The same day that I knew that Young Workers Advisory Service (YWAS) was going to be the workplace to do my 8-week internship, I came to its location to know the office and the staff members. Since the beginning, all the people at YWAS were very willing to help me in whatever problem I had during my 7 weeks of internship. Aaron, Teresa, Lina, Josh, Dominique, Roselle and the Queensland Working Women's Services (QWWS) staff, Kerriann, Deidre, Lee, Janai, Juana and Florence, who supported me.

To overcome the barrier of the language was my first challenge. At first my main concern was the difficulty in understanding what the YWAS staff said to me. However with their help I improved my listening skills. Yet, it was not too easy. The YWAS coordinator, Aaron asked me to take some phone calls. The challenge was double, because the clients did not care whether I was an English speaker or not, they just wanted to complain about their problems at work, so that I had to do my best if I wanted to understand what they were saying to me.

The second challenge was to acquire knowledge about how the Australian industrial relations system works. I knew the general industrial principles due to my Labour Law classes in Mexico. Yet, the industrial relations system in Queensland was completely different. During my stay at YWAS I could realise how protected Mexican workers are in our federal legislation, in terms of the entitlements they have. I also had the opportunity to be updated in the debate at the Australian Parliament about the Industrial Relations Reform. For me, YWAS provided a great workplace to analyse both the current legislation and the federal bill.

I not only performed an internship at YWAS, but also I made unforgettable friends here, especially Juana and Lina, two Industrial Officer at both YWAS and QWWS who let me to share with them most of my time at YWAS and after work time. I am certain that somewhere along the line, I will meet them in Mexico.

I learned many things at YWAS. I improved my language skills and I learned about how the Australian legal system works. But I also learned (and perhaps more important), the professionalism of the YWAS staff members, their will to help people who really need to be supported and the necessity to be sensitive with the people who are treated less favourably.

In brief, I just want to say thank you because you were there at any moment I needed your support.

Jessica Grima

MY EXPERIENCE AT QWWS...

My time as a volunteer at QWWS was an absolute delight that was full of challenges. The staff members of both QWWS and YWAS are wonderful to work with and provide a productive and fun learning/working environment. The biggest challenge that I encountered at QWWS, was learning the new industrial/workplace legislation and regulations. However, in saying this, it would have to be one of the most rewarding learning experiences that I have ever had. Answering clients' queries via the phone strengthened my communication skills and confidence when speaking to others.

It was great to meet new people and contacts and to gather a greater understanding of my own rights as a worker for future reference. The knowledge and skills that QWWS has given me will be extremely valuable in my future employment. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at both QWWS and YWAS for giving me the opportunity of being a volunteer in their program. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience!