A special careers expo featuring more than 12 exhibitors from the public and private sector has been held at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre today to help young detainees turn their lives around.
The expo was an opportunity for 140 young detainees to speak directly with agency representatives about employment and training prospects.
The event also helped build self-esteem, confidence and communication skills.
The expo took three months to plan with input from the Department of Justice’s Youth Justice Psychology Services division, and the Offender Management, Education, Recreation and Case Planning teams.
Detainees were able to speak with government agencies, emergency services, not-for-profit training organisations, defence force personnel and a major mining corporation about what steps they should take to secure employment.
The detainees also prepared for the event with advice and support from their teachers.
They completed employment surveys to identify potential career pathways and set questions to ask the exhibitors.
The responses on the day were recorded in a careers expo passport, which will be kept on file to help with education and careers planning.
The expo also demonstrated the potential of the young detainees with a pop-up coffee shop, the Banksia Beans Cafe, run by a detainee who had qualified as a barista while at Banksia Hill.