After more than five decades working as a farmer in the Dubbo region, the crippling drought forced John Marshall to consider a career change. Having never written a resume, attended a job interview or gained any formal qualifications, the 63-year-old turned to VERTO’s Western College for assistance.

It proved a life-changing choice for John, who was able to obtain government funding to complete the Forklift, White Card, Traffic Control, and First Aid courses at no cost to himself, over a two-week period.

These hands-on short courses were the catalyst for John landing an exciting role as a plant operator at Dubbo Regional Council.

“I had been working for a friend of mine on his property, which went from running 600 cows to basically none,” John said. “As the land kept drying up from the drought, the work kept drying up for me. I knew my time working on the land was coming to an end.

“I applied for several jobs and didn’t look like getting an interview. I knew I needed better qualifications, so my wife did a bit of research and came across VERTO’s Western College training services. Going to them proved to be a great decision.

“While it was daunting at first because it had been a long while since I had sat in a classroom, VERTO’s training certainly helped me get an interview, and look how well it turned out!”

VERTO CEO, Ron Maxwell, added: “With the drought (and COVID-19) having a significant impact on the region’s workforce, John is a wonderful example that it’s never too late to reskill or pursue a new career through vocational education and training."

For more information about how VERTO can help you upskill or retrain, or even just a discussion about how we can help with your employment needs, call 1300 483 786.