Rosemary is following her dreams with Mercure Townsville

Mother of nine children and grandmother of six, Rosemary Pott was living with four of her children in a women’s shelter in Townsville after separating from her partner of 18 years. Having no formal qualifications, Rosemary was finding it challenging to find a job, so she decided to enrol in the North Queensland Cowboys Dream, Believe, Achieve program.

Dream, Believe, Achieve is the Cowboy’s training and employment program delivering accredited hospitality courses to unemployed and disadvantaged North Queenslanders with mentoring support to assist participants in completing training and securing ongoing paid employment.

The intensive program is held at NRL Cowboys House. Professional trainers from Allara Learning deliver a mix of classroom-based and hands-on instruction to the students, while individualised support is provided by dedicated Cowboys mentors.

Rosemary praised the mentors of the program, for helping her make it through the program. She said during one difficult period whilst living at the women’s shelter, the mentor would pick her up and drive her home every day in order to ensure she could attend the program. During the program, students gain invaluable work experience within the hospitality industry, giving them the opportunity to put the new skills they learn in the classroom into practice.

On completion of the training component of the program students graduate with a nationally recognised qualification in hospitality and are further mentored and supported into paid employment. The award-winning training program enjoys a high full qualification completion rate of 77% - compared to the national average of 57% in the VET sector.

Rosemary says she always dreamt of being a chef. This desire led to Rosemary undertaking her work placement in the kitchen at Mercure Townsville, longstanding industry partners of the Dream, Believe, Achieve program. On the last day of her work placement, Rosemary was elated when the head chef offered her a position in the kitchen.

Rosemary began paid employment in April 2019 as a Kitchen Attendant. Speaking of her new job, Rosemary says “I love it here”, adding how welcoming and supportive her colleagues have been towards her.

For Rosemary, having a job has also made a real difference to her life outside of work. After living in the women’s shelter for over 6 months, Rosemary and her children moved into their own house and she is now saving towards a car. Rosemary has also inspired her children. One of her daughters has started a Commercial Cookery Apprenticeship at The Ville, Townsville and two of her other daughters are about to follow in her footsteps by enrolling in Dream, Believe, Achieve.

Today, Rosemary is taking the next step towards becoming a chef, commencing a Commercial Cookery Apprenticeship at Mercure Townsville. Rosemary says her dream is to one day open a restaurant with her brother, featuring a menu combining Indigenous and western ingredients. This is a dream we believe she is on her way to achieving!