A push in the right direction leads Ema-Nisa to new career opportunities

The waiting room of a health service in Berrimah, Northern Territory. A young woman waits to be called in for a job interview.

There are ten candidates for one position.

She hasn’t worked outside the home for several years, and this is a highly sought-after job.

She takes a deep breath. Thinks about everything she has learned, how she has prepared not just for this job interview, but for the job itself.

She smiles, enters the room and delivers the right answers for the interviewers’ questions.

She gets the job.

The young woman is Ema-Nisa, a participant of Bamara in Palmerston.

She has an extensive work history, having worked in hostels, for the Novotel, in health care, and with Karen Sheldon Catering at Darwin’s Parliament House but has been a full-time mother for the last few years.

“I always wanted to get back into employment,” Ema-Nisa says.“

“My children are aged six and four. My daughter goes to preschool two days a week now and she will be full-time at school next year, so I knew the time was right.

“I have been going to ParentsNext at Bamara.

It gives young mums confidence to get into work. Stacey at Bamara has helped me a lot.

“When a job came up in Berrimah, Stacey organised clothes for me for the job interview. She helped me get my Ochre (Working with Children) Card.

“There have been times when I couldn’t make it to an appointment with Stacey because of something to do with the children, and she understood and made another time.

“It makes all the difference when you get someone who really understands.”

Ema-Nisa is now employed by a local Paediatrics organisation. It provides Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) diagnostic services in ‘hard to reach populations and places’.

This is important work, and it requires good workers with strong community links, resilience and people skills.

Originally from Kununurra, Ema-Nisa has lived in the Territory for the past eight years.

Her family is sprinkled across the Kimberley region, and she is the only one in the NT.

“I just love it here. I go out fishing and hunting with my kids.

“We try to catch things that are good eating, like Mangrove Jack. The kids love being out,” Says Ema-Nisa.

Ema-Nisa is a woman with plenty of social capital, but she acknowledges the assistance she received to re-enter the workforce.

“Bamara are really helpful, and you couldn’t ask for anything better,” she says.

“The things they do make a difference. They give you a push when you need it: ‘Come on, I reckon this is good for you,’ or ‘Don’t waste your time with that, it won’t help you get to where you want to be’.

“They are really there for you, and I recommend them to any young Mums who are struggling to get back into work.”