Meet our team: Erin Mathews

Erin Mathews, one of our Work Retention Officers in our Centralised Services team was heading down the career path of teaching, when she “switched her thinking” and chose Employment Services instead.

Erin explains, “The reason I moved into employment services was I had been looking at being a primary school teacher and I realised that was more to do with me wanting to help people than me wanting focus on teaching. Although I love children and watching them grow, I switched my thinking because there are many people working to support children. I thought what about helping adults to find the career path that’s right for them, it can be life-changing for them and their families. People are at a pivotal point in their lives when they are out of work. I wanted to support them to change their circumstances, which I know can have a positive effect on their families, their friends and their broader communities.”

Erin started her Employment Services career, 11 years ago and has been employed with Global Skills for the past six of those years.

In her day-to-day role, Erin manages the wage subsidies that support our employers hire our eligible job seekers for the long-term. Erin explains how this subsidy helps both the job seeker and the employer. “For the employer, the first six months of employing a new staff member is the most expensive in regards to training and resources. The wage subsidy helps the employer offset that initial cost and therefore give an opportunity to a job seeker who may not yet have all the skills they need for the role. The job seeker is considered because the subsidy will help the employer offset the cost of training and upskilling them.”

Whilst Erin loves helping Global Skills job seekers and employers, she also appreciates the culture of our organisation.

“I love working with Global Skills because they are a great sized business to care about all their staff but they are also scaled to make a difference in our community. Our management and staff really care about helping each job seeker find the career path that is right for them, which can be life-changing.

“I also love working with Global Skills because of their flexibility in finding that work-life balance for their staff. They are really supportive.”

Erin brings her passion for helping people to her role with Global Skills. We are proud to have her as part of our team.