Meet the new friendly face at The Exchange

Yarrabilba local and mother Kahla Smith knows the importance of connecting youth to local jobs and training to set them on track for a successful future.

As the new Facilities Manager at The Exchange, Kahla is engaging with the community to provide a link between local residents and local jobs, to help facilitate better connections between employers and our people.

“I’m really excited to work with the local community, empowering people to take control of their own careers,” she said.

“A lot of people over the past few years have taken any job to be sustainable and pay the bills. But I want to help provide opportunities to help people find jobs that they are passionate about and will thrive in.”

Since its inception in December 2016, over 2,690 job seekers have been supported by The Exchange and over 1,115 local people have been placed into local employment through its services.

The Exchange has become a central hub that supports community collaboration and is available for skill training, employment advice, community meeting and events.

“It’s important for people to know that we are here and that they can access to this free service without having to be connected to Centrelink or be on a support payment,” said Kahla.

“You can already be employed, be at school or attending university, no matter what your employment status is, we have the support here to assist.

“Working with job seekers is just one of our roles, we also assist employers to link with skilled employees as well as connect them to training organisations to upskill current or new staff.”

Kahla is currently working to kick-start the ‘Bean Bag Club’ for Term 3, a program available to school-aged students who are preparing for their career journey, but don’t know where to begin.

“The Bean Bag Club provides a welcoming and supportive space for student job-seekers, who are unsure of the steps to take to secure their first part-time job,” said Kahla.

“It will be exciting to offer this service for young people and take that stress out of securing work. We will be providing more updates on the Bean Bag Club soon. Stay tuned!.”

The former Facilities Manager of The Exchange, Diana Bryson is currently enjoying a well-deserved 12 month break in order to travel around Australia. Lendlease would like to acknowledge the amazing contribution Diana has made to The Exchange, growing it from the very beginning in 2016 at Shaw St, maintaining ongoing service delivery throughout the roller-coaster ride of the pandemic lock downs, and ensuring the space at Darrau Ave was always a warm and inviting space for our community to access. We look forward to hearing about her adventures!

For more information on The Exchange and its upcoming workshops visit the Facebook page