Before she found SPARK, Rebeka Auva’a was a housekeeper. While it wasn’t exactly her dream job, she got by, until she suffered an injury at work that forced her to find an alternative occupation. For Rebeka, the only employment options from therein meant jobs that didn’t require much standing.

In her condition, the best thing for Rebeka would have been administrative work, but she lacked the required qualifications. She’d tried to get a business certificate in the past, but never finished the course. Explaining her situation to the Salvation Army Employment Plus agency, they referred her to SPARK.

Soon after, Rebeka applied for and was accepted into the West Belconnen Administration Program. The program ran for ten weeks, combined theory, practical learning, and work experience placements, and awarded its graduates with a Certificate II in Business and a Senior First Aid certificate.

The program and welcoming group of course coordinators and program participants had a profound effect on Rebeka, who said the opportunity to meet new people while expanding her skill sets changed her life. She reports having gained the ability to plan and manage her tasks moving forward and delights in having rediscovered her high-school computer skills through use of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Overall, Rebeka said the program provided an amazing confidence boost – not so much in her ‘social’ sense of the word, (as she has that in abundance!), but confidence in her own abilities and skill sets. “Thanks to the program I’m now a lot more willing to stand up and say ‘I know how to do that!’”

On finishing the SPARK program, Rebeka had planned to pursue her ambition of becoming a Real Estate Agent; however, at graduation she was approached by Spotless, one of the program’s work experience placement providers. Rebeka’s vibrant personality and approach to work had made such a positive impression on the Spotless team during her work experience placement, that they promptly offered her a job! She took the offer immediately and began four days later in procurement, where she is responsible for inducting contractors general office administration.

While she enjoys her current job and finds it fulfilling, she still has ambitions of one day pursuing her dream job of becoming a Real Estate Agent, which thanks to the SPARK program and her ongoing commitment, has brought her one step closer.