Mobo Success Stories

Receiving positive feedback from our supported employees is one of the most rewarding aspects of our business.

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NDIS Participants
Staff
Job Seekers

Tyson

Salvage & Save Superstar

Tyson started work experience at Mobo Group’s Elizabeth Salvage & Save in 2017, he was a shy young man in need of encouragement and support to come out of his shell. Upon completion of his work experience Tyson returned to High School to complete Year 12 and think about his future. In March of 2019 Tyson chose to come and work with us at Salvage and Save Elizabeth as a Supported Employee and it didn’t take long for Mobo to recognise Tysons positive attitude and work ethic.

Tyson’s confidence quickly grew as he was taught how to use the new Tyro iPad payment system, how to restore furniture, bikes, lawnmowers, how to safely work as an offsider delivering and collecting furniture as well as delivering 240lt green organic bins for the council.

It wasn’t long before Tyson was suggesting ways to set up merchandising in the shop, how to upcycle salvaged items and suggesting when something needed attention. The other employees looked up to Tyson and wanted to be like him, he was their champion.

Tyson’s skills and confidence grew to a point where site-manager Tracy felt that it was time to market him to NAWMA. The NAMWA Waste Transfer Station manager thought Tyson would be a good match for NAWMA’s Material Recycling Facility in Edinburgh. Tyson passed all his testing with Ranstad Recruitment with flying colours he then commenced work with NAWMA in October.

Tyson was very excited to let Tracy and the team know he is loving his continued work with NAWMA. His team at Elizabeth Salvage & Save are extremely proud but will miss him dearly.

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Matt

Customer Service Champion

Matt's journey with us began in 2011 as a trainee from the Murray Bridge Special School. Matt came to us with a strong desire to improve his communication skills and confidence so he could secure paid employment with us. During his training we discovered that he had a real skill for customer service, especially operating the cash register and ensuring all our customers needs have been met. Matt quickly grasped how to count the float,

enter sales into the register and use the EFTPOS machine. Matts passion to help has our customers returning each week just to see him. With the skills Matt has developed he looks to carve out a successful future.

Jesse

Independent Woodwork Creator

Jesse had always struggled with his confidence at work, often finding ways to avoid the difficult tasks. That was until he began working at our Salvage & Save Windmill Hill site 2 years ago. After completing his first woodwork project unassisted his skills and confidence began to blossom.

He now independently builds and designs all the crates we sell with little to no support. We are so proud of Jesse who earlier this year was promoted to Shop Assistant, which entails operating the cash register, answering the phones and assisting customers in the yard. Jesse told us that he never thought he would ever come this far. He now knows differently.

Will

With a goal to move out of home

Meet one of our hardworking NDIS Participants Will who came to our Mobo Group site in Berri seeking support to develop his independent living skills so that he could reach his goal to move out of the family home and live independently.

Will is assisted to develop his cooking skills, including shopping, budgeting and preparing meals. His goal to increase his social networks is achieved by Mobo Group helping him attend the Loxton Community Men's Shed where he enjoys woodwork activities in a supported environment.

He also has support finding and maintaining employment that enables him to achieve independence and to be better connected to his local Berri community.
Will is pictured holding his newly created piece of furniture.

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Tim

Starts his own photography business

Tim used to have difficulties finding employment as he believed he lacked experience and skills required for each job. After contacting Mobo Group, Tim was given the tools he needed to find employment that best suited him.

Tim impressed Mobo Group so much that he was offered a position here at our Salvage & Save Goolwa site

where he worked for 3 years.

Tim enjoyed his employment with us as it offered him a supportive environment with people who appreciate him and his skills.

Tim now runs his own photography business where his photography skills are utilised. He has his own website where he showcases his photos www.timdawsonphotography.com. Tim has many ongoing photography projects and continues to pursue his life ambition and passion.

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Emma

Learning new things everyday

Emma had difficulties maintaining employment due to her inability to learn tasks at the pace desired by her managers. As such, she only lasted a couple of months at previous jobs as she felt uncomfortable working in an environment where she wasn’t supported.

When she joined Goolwa Salvage & Save she instantly felt comfortable due to the quality of people she was surrounded by. She was learning new and relevant skills each day, assigned tasks that were suited to her capabilities and had an ample amount of support that enabled her to continue working for as long as she needed.

Working with other employees who have also experienced many problems finding and maintaining employment made her feel at ease and more accepted in the workplace.

Now 7 years on, Emma is constantly learning and has significantly increased confidence with customers and with colleagues. She has also completed a computer course during work hours that has taught her new and practical skills which she can also use in her life outside of employment. Since working at Goolwa Salvage and Save she has been able to save up enough money to purchase a brand new car. Having a job that motivates her to be more focused in life, have a routine and most of all get out of bed each day to earn money makes her feel a sense of achievement as she looks back at where she came from.

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Alistair

Over 20 years with Mobo Group

Meet our incredible supported employee Alistair. Despite his learning difficulties and troubles remembering new tasks he has worked at Mobo Group for 20 years. He started with our Lawns and Gardens team, then moved to our South Coast Firewood team splitting, bagging and delivering firewood.

He says the best part of working for Mobo is interacting with customers in the yard and on deliveries. He is a passionate Port Power and Encounter Bay FC fan, showing his support by changing which team’s hat he wears depending on the results of the game.

Marc

Excelling with new friends and social skills

Marc joined the Mobo Group team in 2015 after his previous workplace closed down. This was a challenging time in his life as he did not like change and was finding it difficult to find another job. When he joined Mobo Group he initially felt anxious and uncertain, however was welcomed with open arms by his new colleagues.

His mother explained how independent he has become, “This change was for the better, he has met new friends, improved his social skills and has been trained to use various machinery,” she said.

Marc is now settled in at Mobo Group and works 5 days a week. His favourite job is sorting and folding linen for hospitals as it’s a job he knows helps his community.

In his spare time he enjoys helping his father at their family business and barracks for Port Power and the Crows. He feels proud to be a part of Mobo Group and recommends Mobo Group to his friends outside the business as he loves his job.

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Shane

Our resident (but hardworking) joker

Meet Shane who after living at home with his mum for two years decided to return to work. Shane had previously worked at Mobo Group in 2013 and then moved to other employment that didn’t stick.

When faced with who to return to, he chose Mobo Group for the rewarding work and friendly working culture. Shane's cheerful personality was on display during the Gawler Disability Expo and Forum a while back when we invited him to the microphone to share his experiences with the audience. He spoke about the jobs he likes and the friendships he has made since first coming on board.

Shane loves to stir people up and is our resident joker. That being said, he is extremely diligent in his work,

and can’t pick a favourite task. He has proven that he is particularly skilled in packing and assembly jobs.

Genelle

Is off to Flinders University

Genelle has worked at Mobo Group Oakden since 2015. She used to love saying hello to everyone when she would drop her housemate off each day, so when her support staff encouraged Genelle to apply for a position she was very excited.

Genelle is now very busy, working at Mobo Group four days a week. She loves the wide variety of jobs Mobo Group offer but her favourite is working in the Food Rooms.

Recently, Genelle attended the NDIS launch here in South Australia, where she was able to hear the Premier, Jay Weatherill, speak about the new disability scheme and looks forward to the benefits the scheme may bring her to make more choice about her future.

Genelle is very thankful for the opportunities that Mobo Group has provided her. She has been able to broaden her skills and confidence, while working amongst her friends in an environment that appreciates her hard work.

In 2019 Gennelle enrolled in University and completed work in Womens Studies classes, in 2020 she will continue into her second year of studies at The University of Flinders under The Up The Hill Project. She plans to undertake studies in Health issues and Disability.

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Sam

In Stitches Superstar!

Sam Reid is a Supported Employee based at our Mount Barker site “In Stitches”. Sam had a goal to learn how to sew an “In Stitches” Wheat bag. Due to Sam’s visual impairment, Sam found it difficult to see the sew lines and we had limited success with his sewing training because of this. Sam felt disappointed and was frustrated that he was unable to increase his sewing skills and challenge himself personally.

However, on a visit to the Royal Society for the Blind (RSB), Sam discovered a magnifying lamp that he thought may be able to assist him in overcoming his barriers.

Sam was able to borrow a lamp from the RSB to see if it would help him with his sewing skills training.

Sam discovered that the magnifying lamp was a valuable visual aid which enabled him to see the sewing lines and help him work toward his goal of learning to sew! Not only was Sam able to use the magnifying lamp for sewing, but he discovered it could help him in his ACE training classes.

Sam’s supervisor approached the Employee Assistance Coordinator and together made an application to the Employee Assistance Fund (EAF) through JobAccess to fund the lamp as a workplace modification. The application was successful and a new magnifying lamp was purchased for Sam.

Since then, Sam has been working on his sewing training on a weekly basis, and has improved leaps and bounds. Sam recently sewed his very first wheat bag from beginning to end with little support. We are so proud of you Sam and are thrilled that you have been able to achieve your goal of being able to sew an “In Stitches” Wheat bag!

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Jesse

Mobo Group's Socialite

Jesse was unsatisfied with his previous employer, he did not enjoy the work environment and found it difficult to commute to work. He heard about Mobo Group through friends and now works here four days a week. His favourite job at Mobo Group is packaging, however he enjoys a range of tasks including linen folding and sorting.

Jesse has made lots of friends at Mobo Group, and enjoys the neat and tidy work environment. He believes that working here has increased his confidence, and he has developed lots of valuable skills through the wide variety of jobs he does. Outside of Mobo Group, Jesse has an extremely busy social life.

He enjoys weekly activities such as dancing with Dance Down, ten-pin bowling, swimming, going to the gym,

shopping and cooking. Jesse loves his job here at Mobo Group and would recommend becoming

a supported employee to all his friends.

Kelvin

Found a new sense of happiness and accomplishment

Kelvin had passed a cleaning services course but had difficulty securing employment. He felt that many organisations were worried about taking on an employee with a disability. Despite this, he was committed to finding a job.

After seeing an ad in the paper for Mobo Group, Kelvin applied and was offered a job. Coming

from a manufacturing background, Kelvin felt most comfortable in assembly work.

Now, over five years on, Kelvin demonstrates impressive productivity and says that he feels like he accomplishes

a lot every day. Keeping active stimulates both his physical and mental health, and he

reports that working has made him a happier person.

Brian

Developing and improving his skill set at a job he loves

Brian had been looking for a job with a recruitment agency for some time. He was only looking for something temporary at first that was easily accessible by bus from his home in Tranmere.

After commencing work at Mobo Group, he was surprised as a month, six months and then a year passed by in no time at all. He found that instead of having to go to work, he wanted to come to work. Now, ten years on,

Brian still loves the atmosphere and work environment at Mobo Group.

He finds the team flexible and helpful, so much so that at the end of the day sometimes he doesn’t want to go home. He’s got a close group of friends and feels like the work is really tailored to suit his skills, and particularly

enjoys making boxes and labelling.

Bianca

New independence and value to her life

After struggling with fluctuating work for years, Bianca sought something stable and rewarding. Bianca’s mum found an ad for Mobo Group in the newspaper and suggested that Bianca try it out.

Now, after two years, Bianca works alongside her husband and appreciates the independence and value that Mobo Group brings to her life. She is glad she took the initial chance and tried something new because she now feels confident in her role and doesn’t look back. In 2018, Bianca was awarded the Grand Champion of the 'BuyAbility Above & Beyond Award, and here at Mobo Group we couldn't be more proud of her.