A career job with a purpose

I started with HELP Enterprises on the 9th June 2015, and I guess today marks 2 months with this fabulous organisation.

HELP Enterprises marks a first for me ... the first employer I've worked for who hasn't been seeking profit for profit's sake, profit to line the shareholders' back pockets, or profit to keep the board well funded.

In a nutshell, HELP Enterprises' drive for profit is all about "enhancing the lifestyle and independence of people with disabilities", pure and simple.

I've never experienced anything quite like it, and relishing the environment within the organisation I work for.

Let's be clear though, HELP Enterprises' various divisions are there to make profit for sure, but it's what the profit is used for makes all the difference ... "enhancing the lifestyle and independence of people with disabilities".

Now, if you slightly alter HELP Enterprises' mantra to "enhancing the lifestyles and independence of people with disadvantages", it makes perfect sense to me, why HELP Enterprises won 3 jobactive contracts (Brisbane North (Somerset), Brisbane South East and Gold Coast), leveraging from & building on the experience in Disability Employment Services.  A logical step forward.

To support our 3 jobactive contracts, HELP Enterprises now has 37 jobactive sites throughout South East Queensland, and 3 Business Development Managers (one for each contract's region). As the BDM for Brisbane South East, Employment and Training, my role is to introduce HELP Enterprises to the medium to large enterprises / corporates / organisations and have a conversation.

There are no specific pre-conceived outcomes sought in having these conversations, just an intent to keep it open and honest.  Of course, as you would expect from my job title, Employment and Training are a key part of the conversation I bring to the table, but there are some amazing divisions of HELP Enterprises, underpinning what we do, that are also introduced:

• Manufacturing (including MailSafe, BinSafe, Traditional Awnings)
• Training (Qualifications, unaccredited programs and short courses, VET in Schools)
• Schools: Hospitality, Technical Studies, Community Services & Business
• Fison Food Factory
• Wholesale Nursery
•  Logistics
• Packaging & Assembly Services

HELP Enterprises has been referred to in the past as "Brisbane's best kept secret" and that's changing, one conversation at a time.

I am proud to be a part of the HELP Enterprises' family and assist with the growth and recognition of a fabulous organisation, that since 1968, has been "enhancing the lifestyle and independence of people with disabilities".

I am open to a conversation .... are you?

Thomas

homas Skennerton, Business Development Manager, Brisbane South, Employment & Training, HELP Enterprises

M: 0405 240 239 | E: thomas.skennerton@helpenterprises.com.au | 

W:http://helpenterprises.com.au

Marriage and my best friend

Here I am, on yet another flight (I do on average at least 4 a month, and have done so for the past 13 months), and take this golden opportunity to write another post (or pen to paper, as I like to refer to writing blog posts).

This weekend marks one of the rarer moments in my normal home surroundings... my wife was away for the weekend. She has taken a well deserved short break back home in Fiji, and this is a break I know she sorely needed.

My normal calendar month at work consists of two consecutive weeks in our Melbourne office and the balance in our Brisbane office (Priority Management http://prioritymanagement.com.au). Apart from a fair bit of travel, I spend two working weeks away from my wife. Luckily, Priority Management is forward thinking and caring enough to send me home for the middle weekend, to be with her.

I came home last Thursday night, in order to spend a night with my wife, prior to driving her to the airport Friday morning for her flight to Fiji. That night, I came home to an empty house, and this is the rare moment: I would spend the weekend in the house alone.

I refer to our home as the "house" simply because one of the main reasons it is my home is because of my wife.

My wife is Fiji-Indian and I believe true to her heritage, beliefs and upbringing. Apart from being breath takingly gorgeous, she carries herself in almost a regal sense, and for me, she lights up my world.

That said, she has strong opinions and is always totally upfront with me, no matter what. And this can be a little confronting at times, but for me, providing I keep this in mind, ensures the strong conversations can take place, solutions or negotiations can be worked through, without fear of retrospective actions, and never a grudge to be held. Certainly, I am thankful that emotional blackmail is not a part of our relationship or marriage.

She is a self made woman, who has made her mark on this world, without a man by her side (apart from her father, who left this world around 3 years ago, prior to my coming onto the scene), and really, owes no one, anything. Words can't really do justice to my respect for what she has achieved, and for me, she is my daily inspiration.

As a woman who is herself, she didn't enter our relationship as someone who was needy, or dependent; rather, first and foremost, we were able to develop a friendship and love based on two individuals who chose to come together in a relationship, but also, neither of us losing our sense of self.

Not only is she my wife, but also very clearly, my best friend. And that makes me one very lucky and blessed guy.

This weekend (that I just spent alone), made it perfectly clear just what value she adds to our home life, and how the sum of all she does and I do, and all of our interactions, turn the "house" into our "home".  And yes we have been texting, calling and skyping, but the spontaneity of the simple happenings and interactions are missing.

I am very lucky and fortunate to be a part of a deep friendship and a truly positive relationship with my partner; to be married to my wife is a place second to nothing else here on this earth.

The weekend has served me well; it has reminded me of just how lucky I am, and what a great life I live. And my wife's singular importance won't be forgotten.

Saying goodbye to a phenomenal man

This week marked the passing of a truly great man...someone most of you won't know, and someone I had only know for a bit over 5 months.



My wife's Mother's brother-in-law, our Mosa, passed away peacefully (from all accounts; I wasn't present) last Tuesday. And he will be missed.



Mosa was not only present at our Hindu wedding back in March, but more importantly, he was both our Pundit (Hindu Priest) and our Civil Celebrant...he performed our wedding ceremony, and it was the last one he performed.



I met him for the first time about an hour before our wedding, and he instantly made me relax. Suffering a rare skin disorder, Mosa was literally as white as me, which really took me by surprise, and it sort of enhanced his Pundit "aura" in my mind.



Mosa ensured I was fully aware of what would and was happening, every step of the way, and I know from my family and friends' perspective (not to mention mine as well) this was hugely welcoming and comforting at the same time.



His keen sense of humour came into play a number of times during the ceremony (apparently my wife has to obey me! ;) ), and his patience for a Gora like me right in the middle of a Hindu wedding, was much appreciated.



But it was the two days after spent in Mosa's company that I was so lucky and fortunate to receive. For it was this time I was able to learn more about this great man's 80+ years of life's experiences...and there were many lessons learnt and still learning, as a direct result of our conversations, and time spent.



And it is not just me who obviously feels this way about Mosa...at his "public" funeral service, at least 500 people were in attendance, and the line of the people waiting to say goodbye seemingly took forever to run its course. He was well loved.



Mosa has gone to a better place, and we here are poorer for that. I now have someone else I can class as one of my life's guidance counselors; even though he has passed on, his memories and advice live on.



God rest his soul



Nameste

Paying it forward .... twitter style

The amazing thing about twitter, is the almost instantaneous nature of the conversation (or referred to as "tweets" from the twittersphere). The tweets are usually short and to the point, and really, how can they not be, when you are only allowed up to 140 characters per tweet?

So how does one pay it forward on twitter?

Firstly, paying it forward...

Paying it forward, if you weren't sure, is a concept by which I try to live my life by, and I know others do the same. To pay it forward, simply means helping out someone randomnly (unplanned) in a way that potentially may give that person the necessary leg up so that they can achieve something important in their life. To you it is nothing of any great significance, and doesn't really cause you any discomfort, mentally, emotionally, physically, nor financially.

To the recipient however, your paying it forward may just be the missing piece in the puzzle for them to achieve something positive/life changing/life saving from their life, for their life. For example, placing some spare change into a parking meter, allows a person to park (they may actually have no money), and make that critical job interview on time, therefore win the interview process, get the job, and become employed for the first time in two years. What did it cost you.... $3.20 perhaps. But for them, that $3.20 helped them get their life back on track.

So, I understand the concept of paying it forward, now how can I pay it forward on twitter?

Twitter works on building a social/business network by finding people to follow, and people follow you..... and so it goes.

You can pay it forward by simply connecting two people, who may not know each other, together, and you have paid it forward, because you are the middle link.

• Someone may be on hard times and needs that leg up.... you know someone who can assist, and by bringing them together, you have paid it forward.
• You come across some information tweeted by someone you follow, and you think it is interesting enough to retweet (share it again)... this information then goes out to all of your followers, maybe onto someone who really needs this tweet... you have paid it forward.

Paying it forward on twitter can really work. What does it cost you? Apart from your time... nothing.

So, the next time you feel an urge to share the love, I have three words to share...

Pay It Forward