No eye contact. No engagement.
By day four, she stood up and shared her story.
Six weeks later, she was still in work.
First Nations Identity & Cultural Foundations Program
Step Into
Your Power
A culturally appropriate First Nations program that strengthens identity, builds cultural connection and develops the foundation life skills that support lasting personal change.
Employment remains the destination. Identity is the journey.
Built for Workforce Australia, IEA, RAES and First Nations providers.
Proof
25
years working alongside First Nations communities across Australia
5K+
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants across government-funded programs
90%+
Completion rates consistently sit above 90% across government-funded programs
Why it exists
Why Step Into Your Power exists
For many First Nations participants, the barriers to lasting employment begin long before a resume is written.
Trauma. Disconnection. Loss of identity. Limited confidence. Unstable routines. These are not simply employment barriers. They are life barriers.
Why organisations partner with Step Into Your Power
Strengthens identity and cultural connection
Develops foundation life skills
Creates safe spaces for honest conversations
Supports participants experiencing long-term disengagement
Complements existing Workforce Australia services
Designed specifically for First Nations cohorts
The problem we solve
You already know who they are.
People who have tried before and walked away. People carrying trauma, shame, fear, anger, distrust and disconnection. They don't answer their phone. They leave programs before they finish.
Traditional services begin with employment. Step Into Your Power begins with the person.
"They sit in the room and say nothing."
"They walk out before lunch."
"We place them and they are gone by week three."
"They have been through this before. They do not trust it."
The north star
Strong foundations don't guarantee a different future. They make one possible.
Employment remains the destination. Identity is the journey.
Identity
↓
Culture
↓
Foundation Life Skills
↓
Personal Growth
↓
Community Participation
↓
Education & Training
↓
Sustainable Employment
The program
15 modules. 4 to 5 days.
A structured, culturally safe journey through identity, culture and foundation life skills — mapped to Workforce Australia's Foundation Life Skills and Cultural Competency Training categories. Full module detail, capability mapping and organisational outcomes are set out in the program brochure.
Delivery
In person, immersive
Length
4 to 5 days
Environment
Culturally safe, non-judgmental
Sequence
Identity, culture, then employment
The modules
1
Cultural Pride
Reconnecting with cultural identity and belonging
2
The Mirror Does Not Lie
Understanding daily patterns and personal choices
3
The Thing You Forgot You Wanted
Creating purpose and direction
4
Feel It. Get It.
Linking purpose with everyday decisions
5
Who Told You That? Question Everything.
Making informed decisions
6
Dead Weight
Recognising helpful and unhelpful influences
7
Chase the Fear
Responding to new opportunities
8
Your Time Is Now
Managing priorities
9
Money Matters
Managing everyday finances
10
100% Transmission
Communicating with impact across cultures
11
Respect Opens Doors
The value of respect in workplace and community
12
On the Move
Planning reliable transport
13
See What Others Miss
Recognising First Nations opportunities
14
Opportunity Starts With You
Recognising personal strengths
15
Warriors Get Back Up
Learning and moving forward
What changes inside the room
She did not speak
for the first day.
for the first day.
"I know what I am worth."
Something changed before employment.
The proof
Let the outcomes speak.
"No service could reach my son until Sean. He went from anger and silence to standing tall, proud of his culture and hopeful for his future."
Rachel H · Aboriginal Mother, SA
"We gave Sean the young people no one else could manage. He did not just work with them. He changed them."
David B · Youth Justice Coordinator
"In the places too complex or confronting for most, Sean turns crisis into clarity and disconnection into direction."
Michael L · Program Manager, Youth Services
"Completion rates on Sean's programs consistently sit above 90 percent, in cohorts our own data told us were the hardest to retain."
Regional Manager · Workforce Australia Provider
Participant outcomes
- People start speaking, often for the first time in weeks
- They take ownership and regulate emotion under pressure
- They stay in the process instead of walking out
- They hold employment at 4, 12 and 26 weeks
Provider outcomes
- Stronger retention at the milestones you are measured and paid on
- Fewer participants cycling back through the same programs
- Completion rates consistently above 90% across government-funded delivery
- A culturally safe engagement point your existing services can build on
Who we work with
Built for organisations working with people others struggle to reach.
If your caseload includes long-term unemployed, disengaged youth, First Nations peoples, or justice-involved individuals carrying barriers no standard pathway touches, this is the program.
Workforce Australia Providers
Indigenous Employment Australia (IEA)
RAES Providers
REAL Program Providers
First Nations Organisations
Youth Justice
Community Organisations
Drug and Alcohol Services
Sean Te Wake
Founder & Lead Facilitator, Step Into Your Power
I have spent 25 years working with people most systems struggle to engage.
I am not an employment services worker. I am the person providers bring in when their own approach has stopped working.
Indigenous Polynesian (Maori, Cook Islander, Tahitian), I have spent 24 years building genuine trust in Aboriginal and First Nations communities across Australia. That trust is not manufactured. It comes from blood and from showing up for a quarter of a century.
Thousands trained and supported across employment and community programs. More than 5,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants. Completion rates consistently sit above 90% across government-funded programs.
I work with participants others struggle to reach.
Qualifications
Diploma of Modern Applied Psychology
Master NLP Practitioner
Matrix Therapy Practitioner
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
Background
Owned and operated a labour hire and recruitment company for 8 years
Worked with Australia's largest recruitment and labour hire companies for 12 years
24 years in Aboriginal communities, youth justice, VET, and employment services
Let's talk
The Conversation Starts Here
If your organisation is looking for a culturally appropriate program that strengthens identity, cultural connection and the foundations that support lasting participation, let's start the conversation.
Your location. Your timeline. Reach out to discuss whether Step Into Your Power is the right fit for your cohort. Sean responds within 24 hours.