Christopher migrated to Australia in 1973 from his home country of Sri Lanka. A tea planter for a number of years, Christopher had also worked with rubber trees and cardamom and had hoped that this diversity of experience in plantation work would find him employment in similar industries once he had arrived in Australia. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be and he eventually took up a position with the Victoria Railways as a booking clerk, a position that he held for 26 years. “Initially It was disappointing to find that I couldn’t work in areas similar to those I had experience in during my work in Sri Lanka, but I appreciated the time I spent with Victoria Rail and the opportunities that it provided for me,” he says.
It’s possible that Christopher may still have been with Victoria Rail if it hadn’t been for the transport provider’s eventual privatization, affording the booking clerk the ideal opportunity to accept a redundancy payout and try something new.
After a year off he joined the Community Jobs Programme (CJP), a service that supports community organisations, local government and other government agencies to employ local jobseekers on community projects. Eligible for retraining, Christopher was able to work on contract for 4 months with the Kingston City Council in their parks and gardens. “I can’t speak highly enough of the CJP,” states Christopher. “When you are in your late fifties it can be quite difficult to find a job, never mind actually establishing a new career. CJP had a strong commitment to helping me re-enter the employment market after years of working in one job. I believe that their support was important to me securing the position that I now have.”
At the end of the 4 months, the Kingston City Council offered him a permanent position as a New Apprentice in Horticulture, an opportunity that Christopher was quick to pick up. The Council provides on the job training, the formal components being offered by TASA, a training company that specializes in providing the Certificate 3 in Horticulture through the on site council training officers. “After so many years working inside it was a marvelous feeling being outside, working with my hands and experiencing all the different elements that the weather can throw at you, much like when I was in Sri Lanka. Though I am so much older now, the passion is still with me and I couldn’t be any happier than what I feel right now,” Christopher acknowledges.
With his Certificate 3 in Horticulture now almost completed, Christopher is excited about the prospects that are opening up to him. Working within the Council’s Annuals Planting Area, Christopher and his team ensure that the City’s parks and gardens are a proliferation of colour and scent for their many visitors. “I really find that working with annuals gives me a sense of great pride and fulfillment. I love the smiles that our gardens and flowers bring to peoples’ faces. Their obvious joy is the icing on the cake for me,” he states proudly.
Unlike his work in tea, rubber trees and cardamom 32 years earlier, Christopher’s third career, starting now as he approaches his sixties, will allow him to work in shires and cities throughout the world, should he be interested in taking this direction. “It seems in some ways that I have come full circle, returning to a vocation that allows me to work with the soil just as I had done so long ago,” Christopher comments. “The difference now, of course, is that if I choose to I can apply for job positions absolutely anywhere and still be secure in the belief that I would at least be competitive. This gives me a great sense of security and confidence,” he concludes.
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