The transition out of high school and into the next stage of life can feel daunting and uncertain for young people and their families. New environments, unfamiliar faces and a change in routine can feel like a big disruption to everyday life.
That’s why, at Avenue, we focus on easing this transition by tailoring individual plans so participants feel comfortable, confident and supported as they move forward.
For Chloe from our Avenue Botany hub, this approach has been central to a positive experience. During her final year of high school, she began attending Avenue one day a week as part of her transition plan, balancing this with four days at school to help ease the shift when the time came to move on.
Now, she’s thriving – building skills in her work team, working towards greater independence, making meaningful connections and trying new things. For Chloe, making the leap from high school was more exciting than it was scary, because she had a transition plan in place and knew what to expect.
“I think it’s a good idea to come to Avenue while you’re still at school so you know what it feels like. I’m glad I did that,” said Chloe.
New opportunities for new skills at Avenue
Chloe’s days at Avenue are spent working in the Animals Team – Avenue’s doggy daycare business – where her responsibilities include caring for the dogs and communicating with clients via a platform called Mad Paws. She uses Mad Paws to send photos of the pets to their owners and provide written updates and summaries of their day. She also ensures she’s providing the highest standard of care to the dogs by broadening her knowledge through research.
“We walk the dogs and we learn about them on the computer. I’ve learned about some dogs that help people, called assistance dogs,” said Chloe.
Chloe recognises the importance of the skills she’s learning at Avenue. She’s become more confident in working with computers, noting that her skills in typing and using different software programs have improved.
“I’ve gotten better on the computer,” she said. “Now I’m used to computers. I even made an award on Canva for one of the dogs.”
Making meaningful connections
In addition to technical skills, Chloe has also built strong relationships during her time at Avenue. Being part of a consistent team has helped her develop friendships and feel connected in her workplace environment.
“I’ve made new friends,” she said.
She also values the support she receives from staff, who guide her through new tasks step by step and encourage her to try things outside her comfort zone, while still making her feel safe and supported.
“They show me new things, how to do it, and then I follow what to do,” said Chloe. “They make me feel comfortable.”
Opportunities for growth
Chloe has also had the opportunity to try different work teams across Avenue, including Hub Management, where she helped with the preparation of materials and daily operations behind the scenes, to help the broader hub and work teams run smoothly.
It’s this range of work tasks and opportunities that have helped Chloe to gain confidence in her own abilities. Now, one of her goals is to broaden her skills further with new work experiences, including customer-facing roles such as the Markets Team.
“I think I want to try a new team… maybe markets,” she said.
Reflecting on her transition from school, Chloe says starting at Avenue while still at school made a huge difference to how she experienced the change.
“I felt nervous and excited because I like trying new stuff,” she said. “I still miss school, but I like doing stuff out of school as well.”
For Chloe, the early transition during her last year of school removed some of the discomfort that comes with new environments, helping her fully embrace the transition to Avenue at the start of this year.
Now, Avenue has become a place for Chloe to grow skills, build relationships and pursue new opportunities as she moves confidently into her next stage of life – and we look forward to supporting her every step of the way.
If you would like to learn more about Avenue, please head to our website: avenuecoworking.org.au/