Reimagining Career Transitions with Bridie Searle

Bridie Searle is this amazing human who saw a need and decided she was going to be the person to meet that need . She was the Australian Trainee of the Year in 2023 and leveraged the different resources and mentors that she had around her to complete a program called Ready Skills for people transitioning throughout their careers . I have to state the obvious Bridie is really young and throughout the conversation , I often found I had to remind myself that that's not relevant here .

Bridie is making a huge difference in many people's lives and has to be commended for how she's gone about it . She hasn't overcomplicated it . She's kept it really simple , she's leveraged her network and she's sharing it with the world . She's articulate , she's energising , she's inspirational , and this is her story .

Welcome to the Reimagined Workforce Podcast brought to you by the Director of Workforce Transformations Australia , kath Hume . In each episode , we explore the stories , strategies and successes of curious , creative and courageous people who are daring to address workforce challenges differently . Together , we'll discover how we can harness human potential and reimagine the workforce for a brighter , more fulfilling future for everyone . And if you would like to learn more from Kath about how we can make this happen , be sure to get a copy of her latest book , the number one Amazon bestseller Learn , solve Thrive making a difference that matters in a fast and complex world .

Now for the episode . So Bridie Searle was the VET student of the year in 2023 . She's a driven young professional with a deep passion for people , lifelong learning and ensuring equity in education and employment , especially within the vocational education and training sector in Australia . She started her career in defence project management and realised her true calling lay in bridging the gap between education and practical , real-world skills .

This led to ReadySkills , a passion project turned lifelong mission helping Australians gain the essential life skills to become confident , capable adults . Whether it's financial literacy , first aid , automotive basics , mental wellbeing or even meal planning , ready Skills is all about preparing people for the realities of life the good , the bad and everything in between . Bridie Sewell , welcome to the Reimagined Workforce podcast . Thank you so much for having me , Kathryn .

I appreciate it . We're both presenting at a conference later in the year for the Teachers Guild , and I saw your name and thought , oh , I want to see what this Ready Skills is about . And I dug a little bit deep and was so surprised to see that you're so accomplished and presumably quite young compared to me for sure . So I'm really interested to hear about how you came to be the vet trainee of the year in 2023 .

Yeah , well , look , it's been a very fast-paced journey . I will say that I left school in 2021 , midway through year 11 . So I'm originally from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales . However , I was finding it really hard to gain meaningful entry-level employment .

I live in a region where our industries are very saturated and the diversity of those entry-level opportunities so the apprenticeships and the traineeships was just not there . So I had to broaden my horizons and that led me to my life in Sydney . So I relocated to Potts Point at the age of 17 to begin my project management traineeship in the defence industry with an organisation called TALIS . So that was my beginning .

What I really like about this story is that you went this doesn't work for me , this traditional route , so I'm going to find one that works for me . And then you've taken that to the next level and said I'm actually going to create that for other people . So you've seen a need and you've actually made that happen , and that's what I love about doing . The podcast is going out and finding people who reimagine the world and say this needs to be different and actually bring that to life .

Absolutely , cassie . Ready Skills was born out of what I call an unmet need and I created it out of my own personal experiences . So , as I said before , my last full year of schooling was year 10 . And leaving home at 17 meant there was huge changes in my life .

It was a very transitional period and , had I have had the knowledge that I now teach young people today , it would have made my journey a whole lot smoother and it would have allowed me to be a bit more confident in my transition to adulthood . The question I ask everybody but I'm really interested in yours is what does your reimagined workforce look like ? So I deal with young people . I deal with career changes and people that are looking for a second chance as well , so people that may have been out of the workforce for a while , potentially people that have been incarcerated as well , and my reimagined workforce looks like a workforce that empowers people .

So , as I said before , I work with a lot of young people and there is this stigma in society that young people do not work hard , and I can tell you from my own personal experience and from all the young people that I have dealt with , not only within the vocational education sector , not only within the kids that I see at ReadySkills , but just young people in general . There is a drive there , there is a passion and there is a want to work hard and to create something for ourselves .

But I feel like for a lot of the older generation , they do write us off and there is some examples that you know I've been called lazy , I've had people not shake my hand , I've had people not look me in the eye when they talk to me because they write me off because I'm a young professional . But , kath , that is not the case . There is no need to write us off . We have so much passion to give and we bring so much drive as well , and there's interest there .

There's so much that I can learn from the older generations , and I'm willing to learn as well . So when you speak about a reimagined workforce , it's all about empowerment empowerment of younger people , empowerment of career changes and empowerment of people that are looking for a second chance as well . I think the really important lesson there for me is that work might be different for different generations . So what my generation might have thought was hard work , which possibly it would be turning up , working long hours , being visible is different today , and maybe there's some hesitation or assumptions that people make that if I can't see you , I don't necessarily trust that you're working .

And I think what I really like about what you're doing is you're changing that narrative . You're actually helping people to be contributors to the world in a way that they want to contribute rather than a way that someone else wants them to contribute , rather than a way that someone else wants them to contribute . Have you got any stories for us around ? People who may have had that similar experience , come through your program and then gone out and been able to demonstrate value in their own way ?

I've dealt with a lot of young people , a lot of year 10 to year 12 age students that's primarily who goes through the program and a massive one for them , especially in a world where we're not about saving money now , we're about stretching it . And there was about 30 kids in the classroom and about 22 to 25 of them had jobs , which I was pretty impressed by . Wow , three of them had a tax file number . Wow , good , three of them had a tax file number .

So all of those students yeah , so all of those students . Not only were they working illegally , but they were working for half their pay , their tax was going nowhere and they were missing out on all of these entitlements and doing themselves a huge disservice . So in the span of two hours , I've been able to empower 20 young people with jobs and the rest of the class . They all went and got a tax file number that day too , but I've been able to sit down with all of these kids , empower them about what tax looks like , what they're missing out with , super their entitlements so they can walk back into their workplace with confidence that they're getting everything that they're entitled to and they've got the ability to move forward confidently .

They're not having any issues with their employer . Their employer's not doing the wrong thing by them , and how ? did you go about arriving to where you are today ? Obviously had a dream , an inspiration around what the world could look like .

What was the next step ? What was the chapters that you went through to get to supporting all of the young people that you're talking about now ? So , as you mentioned before , I was lucky enough to go through the New South Wales Training Awards and then the Australian Training Awards system . So it was through that that I got a real introduction into what vocational education and training looks like for my future and how that network and how that platform can project me into the future .

Now I've always known that vet training has been a crucial part of not only Australian industry but Australian households as well . Me personally , vet put food on my table every single night when I lived at home , and it still does to this day , and so I really knew the power of vet and I knew the power of the network that I had created within VET . So after the New South Wales Training Awards , I had kind of sat down with myself and although I was in project management in the defence industry very niche , very interesting , but not what lit me up internally and I sat down with myself and I rethought back to an idea that I had had a couple of years prior , when I was in around year nine , year 10 .

And it does sound cheesy , but I promise you this did happen . I said to one of my teachers it was time to pick electives . And I said to one of my teachers , if I had the choice to pick something that taught me life skills , I would . So I sat with myself with that thought in .

It was around September of 2023 . And I said , right , this is going to come alive . And so for the next 12 months , I spent curating different topics , speaking to educators , speaking to parents and to students to make sure that I got the perspective of all three parties , and then speaking to industry as well . As I said before , we cover automotive basics , home maintenance and hygiene , first aid , career skills , and I went to industry to consult for each and every one of them .

And now I wouldn't have this network without VET . So , because of the training awards and because of all the wonderful people I've been able to meet , I was able to reach out to automotive mechanics , to nurses , to tax accountants , to all of these people that have helped me create Ready Skills into what it is today . It's fascinating to me that you just knew instinctively , I think by the sound of it . Did you have mentors that were also supporting you along the way at all ?

Yeah , I've got a fantastic family mum , dad . They're huge role models within my life and my extended family I'm quite close with as well . But in addition to that , my colleagues within TALIS and the mentors that were provided within the Training Awards Network were huge for me . I had a few close colleagues because , as I said , I moved when I was 17 , so I quickly bonded onto a couple of people at work and they became my second family .

So it was throughout my full-time employment would tell us that they still gave me every spare second that they could to push me , to help me build the program into what it is today , and I'm very grateful for all of their support because I know that I would never have been able to get to where I am today if it wasn't from the support of my network and my mentors . What I think is really interesting about this is I was looking at the research around is AI going to replace entry-level positions and what's the ramifications of that for future workforce if we don't have entry-level positions Because we need people who are capable at some point to work in those mid-level positions but if they haven't been through those entry-level positions , how do they get those capabilities ?

So one of the things about this program it sounds like people have the confidence to achieve success and then that feeds on itself . So once people experience the success , I've always said , especially for my own kids , I love reward for effort , I love it when they can associate I got this outcome because I did this thing , and so that's what I'm wondering how what you're doing is addressing that issue around . We've got AI , we've got potentially unconscious bias or assumptions being made about people who are entering the workforce .

Those people entering the workforce are looking for careers , presumably . How is what you're doing overcoming all of those challenges , which are really complex ? In a society where it's becoming increasingly more competitive to get an entry-level position , as we do come up against the challenges , against AI , those better candidates will be the ones with workplace confidence , correct personal branding , professional communication . They'll be able to walk into that workplace with their head held high , knowing their worth and knowing what they are able to contribute to an organisation .

And although AI has got some pretty crash hot features to it , there are some things that you will never get from AI . That you'll get from the personal touch of a driven and passionate employee . So I can really see huge amounts of benefits for those individuals . And what I'd love to understand too , is how do you measure your impact for the employer ?

So there's clearly mutual benefits for the employer and also a society and the economy , I could imagine . So have you done any work to measure that impact ? I think the impact comes from the statements , not only from the employers . I work with apprentices and trainees as well , which means working with their GTOs , rtos and employers , and when the employers come to me and say I've got a bunch of young people , a bunch of apprentices and trainees don't really know how to save their money , don't really know how to budget properly , that does end up creating a negative attitude towards work and a negative attitude towards pay as well .

But if we remedy that , if we build that financial literacy , if we build the workplace confidence , if we build their personal branding skills , they turn out to be a more well-rounded employee . They're happier , they're more confident and they feel more capable stepping into higher roles as well . I see a huge amount of that with personal branding , whether it just be something as simple as what to wear to a job interview , from what they want their message and their mission to be in their overall career .

And I think that with these programs and the fundamental skills that they teach , it allows for our apprentices , our trainees and our younger generation to build on them , because in our corporate workforces a lot of us do a lot of short courses and we do a lot of emotional intelligence type work . But if you don't have the foundations laid , then how are you supposed to succeed ? So I think it's really important and really beneficial for the employers , for the schools , to get us in there to have those preliminary conversations , build the foundational skills so that they can excel into their futures .

Whether that just be workplace confidence or whether it be financial literacy or anything in between , it doesn't matter . All of those foundations can be accelerated in their future . I'm fascinated too . There's so many things going on in my head .

So when I left uni bear with me for a sec when I left uni , I had done a HR degree but I'd never worked in a corporate organization . I'd been a tutor or I'd taught swimming or I'd worked in a bank , but I hadn't actually worked in a HR division . So what I was learning was really hard to then understand as a learner . But also then it was years before I actually had to apply that knowledge that I'd gained and that's part of my book that I wrote was around experiential learning .

So how much easier is life when you're actually living what you're learning ? So what I'm thinking and I don't know if you have any data on this , it's okay if you don't but I'm thinking that because you're getting people into the workforce , they're experiencing what they're learning and they're able to make better use of that opportunity to learn , as much as then applying that learning into the workplace . So it feels to me like you're speeding up that process of getting job ready individuals into roles , being productive quicker .

I don't know if you've got any data around that that you can share with us . Yeah , I don't necessarily have any data , but I have a huge testament from pretty much every student that I see , and I'll put my hand up and say that I said this when I was younger as well . When we would sit down and listen to a lesson on Pythagoras theorem , the first thing that would come out of all of our mouths is when are we going to use this , when are we going to use this ? And I think that's the beauty of Ready Skills C .

So I took everything that I knew that we absolutely needed to know and you would use in your everyday life and put that into a program that I could take into the school . So not once have I ever had a student say to me when are we going to use this ? Because I am giving them those practical life skills , practical and perpetual life skills that they will take with them for the rest of their lives . They'd use it tomorrow , or they use it next week or next year .

It's all relevant and will stay relevant for the rest of their days . And I think that's such a motivator . And I think too , if you're getting people into the roles that they actually well , they may or may not , so they might go and try something and then find out that they don't like it . But that to me too is a win , because at least you're finding out before you've gone and invested years and lots of money into studying or qualification , that might actually not be what is going to end up to be your long-term career .

So I can see so many wins . Yeah , absolutely , and something that I think is severely underutilised within the school system is work experience and the power of work experience as well . So when I was in I think I was in year nine or 10 , I went on work experience and I was hell bent that I was going to be a landscaper , and after one week landscaping I knew that I was not meant to be a landscaper , and that's something that I tell the students all the time . It is just as important to find out what you don't like versus what you do like , and for some of the career changes that we see and some of the people that I deal with that are looking to potentially reintegrate back into the workforce .

They may have been out of it for a while and may be lacking confidence in their skill set , but it's about repurposing skills as well . They may have been up to some trouble in their past life . They may have had some other difficulties . It's about gaining the learnings from their experiences finding out what they were good at , finding out what they weren't so good at , what those gaps are and how they can build themselves into being an employable and confident individual .

It just astounds me that you are so young , the maturity of what you're talking about . I just have to keep reminding myself that you only finished school a couple of years ago , and that's not to say anything negative , but it's just amazing . Maturity of what you're doing and the difference you're going to make . I can't imagine that , what you're going to do over your career .

Why would an employer come to you to say we need a program in my workplace ? Yeah , well , we go to a lot of organizations and we deal with their younger workforces , so their graduates , their apprentices and their trainees , especially for larger corporate organisations , and what we do for them is provide them with dependent on the audience , so all of our content is completely customisable . We talk to them about , once again , those budgeting on a low income , professional etiquette , how to safely climb a corporate ladder and things like that as well .

As I said , it differs from audience to audience . So between graduates and apprentices and trainees , we change our style and the content that we teach . But we also look at how to navigate , looking for a promotion as well . When it comes to the end of the time for apprentices and trainees apprentices , trainees and graduates generally they are looking for some kind of promotion and we talk to them .

We talk to those participants about how to navigate that as well , what it looks like for them and how it can come across to an employer as well . So I think it's really important for employees to recognise the power of uplifting their younger employees , because they are the future of their workforce and we need to nurture that future and a lot of employees don't generally have the capacity . So that's where Ready Skills , outsources that and helps uplift their younger employees .

We are willing to make every effort in order to make sure that the data is being processed , but while we're waiting it's time to make a successful effort we need to do a job that's as convenient . By one way or another , we need to make sure that the data is being processed . It's a very important part of the project . So , to give you a bit of a bit of confidence , I think that was a very good thing .

I think that was a very good thing . I think that was a very good thing . I think that was a very good thing . I think that was a very good thing .

I think that was a very good thing . I think that was a very good thing . I think that was a very good thing . I think that was a very good thing .

I think that was a very good thing . I think that was a very good thing . I think that's a huge transitional period for people post-university and post-apprenticeship traineeship or school as well and I think there needs to be I said before a lot more uplifting of that workforce because , as you said , it's one thing to step out of a university environment it's a very controlled environment and into a workplace , especially a corporate organization . As I said before , I was with a corporate defense organization and I certainly had a number of setbacks , as I think I previously mentioned .

I would go up to people , they wouldn't look me in the eye , they wouldn't shake my hand and they can be real big downers on your confidence . So it's hard to pick yourself back up after that , especially at such a young age , and I think it's that kind of resilience that we also need to instil in our graduate workforce as well . So people that are just finishing uni there's a huge gap there for them as well . So I think that that's another component that the workplace itself doesn't necessarily teach , but Ready Skills can outsource for organisations what are the dreams for the future , for Ready Skills .

I would love to take ReadySkills around the country within different organisations , schools , correctional facilities as well . I want everyone that I come across to be walking away feeling that little bit more empowered , and I want to make sure that this is something that is accessible as well . Yeah , I don't ever charge for rural travel , so I'm able to outreach to smaller communities as well , which is so , so rewarding . The smiles on those kids' faces when they see someone fresh walk in the door and the fact that I've been able to bring this program to them and let it remain as accessible as it is is huge for me .

It's something that gets me up in the morning , yeah for sure . So my big dream is to take Ready skills across the country , and part of my commitment to accessibility is ensuring that I don't ever charge for rural travel as well , and I think some of these skills are most important in Australia's rural communities . So , whether I'm dealing with students , young employees , people in entry-level positions , job changes or people that are coming out of incarceration , all of these kinds of people deserve that empowerment , and I hope to continue for the next couple of years , the foreseeable future , to have that consistent outreach to all of those younger people , empowering them and ensuring that they step into the workforce and into adulthood a more confident , capable version of themselves .

Oh , every confidence of that is exactly what you will do , and this will go a long way , and it just must be wonderful to think about all of the people who are benefiting from what you're doing . But congratulations for bringing a dream to life . Yeah , thank you so much . And look , it's the most fulfilling work that I've ever done and I can't wait to continue to share that journey with you and continue to share the journey with my network as well .

It's moments like these that I get to be able to reflect on the impact as well , and that's quite inspiring for me personally and allows me to really have confidence within myself that what I'm doing is the right thing and I'm on the right track to changing the lives of hundreds and thousands of kids and all those organisations who benefit as well from having those valuable employees . Yeah , 100% , excellent , all right . So if people wanted to get into contact with you , how would you recommend that they do that ?

contact with you . How would you recommend that they do that ? So I would recommend that they get in touch via my website , which is just readyskillsau , or emailing me , bridie , at readyskillsau . Excellent , and I will include those details in the show notes as well .

It's been an absolute pleasure . I feel inspired and also a bit lazy , I have to say , because I think you've achieved in your short career almost as much as I've achieved in over 30 . So congratulations . I am so fortunate to have come across ReadySkills and I look forward to catching up with you at the conference later in the year .

Yeah , thank you so much for having me . What an incredible opportunity . And , yeah , I'm so grateful for allowing me the opportunity to come on your platform as well . It's massive for me , thank you .

We're very lucky to have you . Thanks very much , Bridie . Thank you . Thank you for listening to this episode of the Reimagined Workforce Podcast .

We hope the conversation inspires you to consider new ways to solve your workforce challenges . Feel free to check out our other episodes that are available on our website workforcetransformationscomau slash podcast and if you're looking to create a brighter future , Thank you .