Liam Brown is a participant in Souths Cares Barranggirra Program who completed his Sterilisation Technician Traineeship as a mature-aged learner earlier this month. Throughout Liam’s training journey, he has overcome numerous challenges which makes his recent achievement all the more significant.
Originally from Grafton in Northern NSW, Liam was at the cross-roads in his life after sustaining a back injury whilst working in construction and was unemployed for over 12 months.
Liam came across a Traineeship opportunity as a Sterilisation Technician at Bankstown Hospital, over 600km's away from his hometown. After being offered the opportunity, Liam decided to risk it all and leave his family, friends and the town he had lived in for the past 30 years and re-locate to Western Sydney to live with his aunty.
Liam commenced his Traineeship in March 2021 and shortly after secured his own accommodation. He was referred to Souths Cares Barranggirra Program for some extra mentoring support as he worked towards achieving his career, training and life goals.
Over the past two years, Liam has excelled in the practical components of his Traineeship and thoroughly enjoys his work. On a typical day Liam arrives at work at 7am, checks the hospital’s sterilisation devices and uses ultrasonic machines to sterilise medical equipment which is used for essential medical procedures.
Whilst Liam is a hard-working and passionate employee, he was struggling with some aspects of theory component of his Traineeship – particularly towards the final stages of his course. Barranggirra Mentor, Corey Kelly has worked intensively with Liam over the past two months to complete his final five assessment tasks.
Corey Kelly, Employment and Training MentorWorking with Liam was an exciting learning experience for both of us. His journey to success is inspiring and is a great reward for him after taking a chance and moving to Sydney to better his life.
Liam has also received great support throughout his Traineeship through the Aboriginal Workforce Development team at South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Liam is passionate about working in the healthcare sector and enjoys the opportunity to make important contributions to the team whilst also having the ability to work autonomously.
"Without sounding too dramatic, I probably wouldn’t have finished my Traineeship without the support of my mentors. To anyone thinking about leaving their hometown to pursue a dream - I’d say just back yourself and you'll be surprised at what is possible", Liam said.
Liam has future aspirations of buying his own home and moving back to his hometown of Grafton to reconnect with his family and culture.
The Barranggira Program is proudly supported by Training Services NSW.
