Some are born with the skills to lead, others gain them.

But we probably all know people who have tried to lead without them, or more unfortunately, have  been in a team “led” by someone devoid of them.

“We’re a team and we’ll make it happen together.” This is the message we make clear to job seekers that come to our service: it’s not Catapult consultants working for you but working with you. Some people shy away from that but others really like the opportunity to be involved and take ownership of their future.  We’d like to share a great example of this.

The seed is shown early on: “What do you want be when you grow up?” Albeit not asked in expectation of a seriously studied answer from a primary schooler but asked nonetheless when actually, you’re damn lucky if you have the answer when you’re leaving school.

Managing a fluctuating workload has many challenges. Not least of these is finding staff, often at short notice, with the motivation and flexibility to work on a casual basis.Dave is a business data-cabling contractor and often doesn’t know from one month to the next what his work load will be; whether he still has the same pool of casual staff to call on  or where  his new staff will be found.  The stuff of logistical nightmares for some but not so for Dave. He’s managed it long enough to have established systems to bring it all together and that’s where Catapult helps out.

We love employers like Craig Freeman, director at Espresso Carwash Café on the corner of Lincoln road and Moorhouse Avenue. He runs a smooth operation and he provides a top notch service but that’s not why we’re full of praise for him. It’s his attitude that we think is brilliant.

One of Catapult’s trustees, Shane McInroe, has been selected to become part of the co-design group working towards a transformation for the disability support system. Associate Health and Disability Issues Minister Nicky Wagner announced the three month co-design process with the disability sector to begin a nationwide transformation of the disability support system. Minister Wagner says “Input from the disability sector will be vital throughout the transformation process, particularly during the design phase. This change is about ensuring disabled people and their families have greater control over their lives as well as the support they receive from government.” Shane’s extensive knowledge and experience of the disability sector will be invaluable to this working group and we look forward to the outcome.

A friendly canine welcome awaits people when they come into our place in Barrington St. Iwa, (pronounced Ee-waa), a chihuahua, comes to work each day with Vicky, our receptionist/administrator and spends his time keeping staff company as well as providing a friendly distraction for clients. Research is showing that the mere presence of animals helps us to engage with new people and to cope with stress. We have found that a number of clients enjoy Iwa’s presence, and he helps them to relax a little in the stressful time of job search. Iwa seems to enjoy coming to work too, although he does look forward to the weekend, the same way the rest of us do!

Interesting Video on Depression and Anxiety. “Depression is 50% more debilitating that most chronic physical illnesses, like angina….treating mental illness should be high on the public agenda.”- Richard Layard of the Centre for Economic Performance.