Supporting parents into training and employment
Real Futures delivers Parent Pathways – a support program that helps eligible parents prepare for future employment, training or education. The program recognises that parents often face practical barriers when working toward career goals, including child care responsibilities, training costs, transport needs, confidence, time constraints and uncertainty about where to begin.
For many parents, returning to study or preparing for work is not just about choosing a course or applying for a job. It also means making sure family responsibilities are supported, schedules are realistic and children are safe and cared for while parents take the next step toward employment.
For Lydia, Parent Pathways helped turn a long-held goal into something achievable.
A career goal that felt out of reach
Lydia dreamed of working with haul trucks. Haul trucks are large vehicles used in industries such as mining, civil construction and earthmoving to transport heavy materials across worksites. Operating this type of machinery often requires specific training, tickets, safety awareness and confidence in a high-responsibility environment.
But for Lydia, the pathway felt too expensive, too time-consuming and honestly, a bit out of reach.
It was also not the kind of career path people always expect a mum to pursue, which made Lydia’s drive to reach her goal even more inspiring. She knew what she wanted, but she needed the right support to help make it possible.
Turning the goal into practical steps
Our Parent Pathways team worked with Lydia to break her goal down into clear, achievable actions. Within a tight timeframe, we helped her move quickly from aspiration to action.
We supported Lydia by:
- Booking her straight into White Card training
- Connecting her with a provider for haul truck and excavation training
- Helping her find affordable after-school care for her child
White Card training is a general construction induction requirement for people working on construction sites in Australia. For Lydia, completing this training was an important first step toward entering industries where haul truck and excavation skills are valued.
Why child care support mattered
Helping Lydia find affordable and reliable after-school care was a crucial part of the process.
As a parent, Lydia’s ability to train, upskill and show up for opportunities depended on knowing her child was safe and cared for. Child care was not a side issue. It was the foundation that made everything else possible.
Without that support, attending training, completing requirements and staying available for new opportunities would have been much harder. With it, Lydia could focus on building the skills she needed for the career she wanted.
Backing parents to build new careers
Lydia’s story shows what the Real Futures Parent Pathways program is all about: helping parents turn real-world goals into achievable steps.
Our team works alongside parents to identify what they want to achieve, understand what barriers are in the way and provide practical support to help remove those barriers. That can include training referrals, employment preparation, confidence building, child care support and connections to local services.
For Lydia, the right support meant a career in haul truck operations no longer felt out of reach. It became a pathway she could step into with confidence.
Real Futures backs parents to build careers they may never have thought were open to them. We help them take the next step toward a stronger future for themselves and their families.
