Bendigo TAFE’s Castlemaine campus has recently wrapped up an inspiring initiative involving the restoration of old bikes for donation whilst helping job seekers gain new skills.
Part of the Federal Government’s Work for the Dole program, this initiative involves our trainers guiding local job seekers to repairing bicycles up to road worthy standards.
Approximately 50 bicycles were donated for the project by local residents and the Castlemaine Recycling Centre, with 12 job seekers working on restoration with their trainers.
The renewed bicycles were then donated back to local schools such as Castlemaine Primary School for the Learn to Ride program, students at Castlemaine Secondary School to help them get to school, the Salvation Army Op Shop and local relief centre, Vinnies and other locals in need.
Bendigo TAFE’s work for the dole coordinator Michael Swinbourn says the entire project was highly meaningful for all parties involved – from bike donors to job seekers and recipients of the new bikes.
“Some bikes were donated to young children whose parents may not have been able to afford a new bike during Christmas,” said Michael.
“Participating job seekers learned about project management as well as painting and other skills and techniques in bike restoration. Three participants have since gained employment.”
The Castlemaine campus also hosted a Work for the Dole gardening program recently, which encompassed the campus’ garden, the Salvation Army garden and the Continuing Education local community garden.
More Work for the Dole programs are planned for the campus, including a multimedia project beginning in March. This will involve 20 jobseekers assisting the Sunbury Employment and Learning Committee with building a new website and various administration tasks, all whilst gaining skills in desktop publishing, project management and development of marketing collateral.
