Video Transcript

Tracee Richards - T&J’s Canteen Australian Meat Group

My name is Tracee Richards and I am a cook at T&J’s Canteen.

[Vision: Tracee working in the kitchen - Tracee posing with her husband - Tracee speaking]

We open at quarter to 5:00 in the morning and me and my husband are here until four o’clock to have the bain marie full of bacon and egg sandwiches and then we do coffees.

[Vision: Tracee working in the kitchen - Tracee speaking - Tracee cooking]

I’m epileptic and for many, many years my husband would go to work in the morning, I’d shut the front door, I would not get out of my pyjamas, put in medical certificates, thought no I can’t work.

Paul Grogan - FGM Consultants, Jobs Victoria Partner

[Vision: Staff in the cafeter8ia - food in the bain marie - Tracee talking to customer]

I read Tracee’s resume, I saw that she’s looking for a cooking job and I knew the cafeteria at AMG is looking for somebody like that.

So I basically thought she’s got to go into that job.

[Vision: Tracee preparing food in the kitchen - Tracee speaking]

Well I started here two and a half years ago as casual from 8:00 until 1:00 five days a week.

[Vision: Tracee working in the kitchen and serving customers]

The owner, after about three months, he said you’ve got potential; I’ll give you more hours.

And then it just turned into have you ever thought about owning your own business?

[Vision: Paul Grogan speaking]

The Jobs Victoria program is just a perfect program, because it gives us time to get to know the candidates and to then match them better with an employer that has the empathy to take that person on.

[Vision: Tracee working in the kitchen, talking to customers]

She’s just developed over the months and then to buy the business that’s amazing.

[Vision: Tracee speaking]

I used to always think, yeah, I’ll buy a house one day.

I’ll do all them things what normal people do.

But in the back of my mind I used to think no, I’m never going to be able to do it.

But now it’s a reality.

Jobs Victoria helped me to see that I could work in the workforce.

[Vision: Tracee serving customers]

They helped me step-by-step really with going for the interviews, helping me with clothes, fuel vouchers.

[Vision: Paul Grogan speaking]

With Tracee it was like the matching, the matching with the like employer.

[Vision: Tracee working in the kitchen preparing food - Paul Grogan speaking]

The coordinating towards getting food handling certificates, and basically you know, the support during that first six months is something that I think has helped build her confidence.

[Vision: Tracee speaking]

I always just thought I would never get a job, who would employ me?

I’m not reliable.

But I am reliable.

You get into a rut and you think no I can’t do what other people are doing, but no, everyone’s as good as everybody.

You know, you can do whatever you want to do in life, you’ve just got to make it happen.

[Looking for work? We can help. Visit jobs.vic.gov.au for information and support]

[JOBS VICTORIA / Working for all Victorians]

[VICTORIA State Government - authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne]

Back to Tracee's story