No eye contact. No engagement.
By day four, she stood up and shared her story.
Six weeks later, she was still in work.
Pre-employment program for hard-to-reach cohorts
Some people are not ready for a job yet.
This is where most programs fail.
This is not a motivation issue.
They are not disengaged. They are carrying things your system does not address.
Shame. Anger. Fear. Distrust.
Silence.
Step Into Your Power sits before employment becomes possible.
Built for Workforce Australia, DES, RAES and First Nations providers.
Proof
24
years at the coalface of Aboriginal and First Nations communities across Australia
5K+
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants across government-funded programs
97%
completion rate. Tested at commercial scale inside a national labour hire operation
What providers already know
The gap is not in your process. It is in what your process is not designed to reach.
When the deeper barriers stay untouched, the placement looks good on paper and breaks down in real life. You carry the pressure for outcomes. The 4-week, 12-week, 26-week fees depend on people who are genuinely ready to hold a job.
"They sit in the room and say nothing."
"They walk out before lunch."
"We place them and they are gone by week three."
"We send them to another program and hope it sticks."
"They have been through this before. They do not trust it."
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.
"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
What changes before employment
Step Into Your Power
A 4 to 5-day immersive program. Identity first. Employment second. This is the work that sits before the resume, the interview, and the placement.
What changes in the room
People start speaking.
They hold eye contact.
They take ownership.
They regulate emotion.
They stay in the process.
They believe the job is for them.
Delivery
In person, immersive
Length
4 to 5 days
Environment
Culturally safe, non-judgmental
Sequence
Identity first. Employment second.
This is a legitimate Employment Fund expenditure. The REAL Program is rolling out through 2026 with $76.2 million committed for First Nations people with a history of incarceration. Step Into Your Power is a direct fit.
How this is delivered
14 modules. 4 to 5 days. Group based. Culturally safe delivery.
The modules
01Mindset, identity, and self-worth
02Belief systems and personal story
03Removing dead weight and negative influence
04Harmful thoughts and limiting beliefs
05Fear — understanding and conquering it
06Daily rituals, gratitude, and focus
07Defeating procrastination
08Goal setting based on instinct, not limitation
09Values, courage, and authentic living
10Authentic communication
11Building self-confidence
12Relationships — attention, appreciation, adoration
13Creating opportunity from nothing
14Resilience — take the knock and keep moving
Who it is for
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
DES operators
RAES contractors
REAL Program providers
First Nations organisations
Youth justice and re-entry
Drug and alcohol services
Community services
Sean Te Wake
Workforce Development and Pre-Employment Program Facilitator
I have spent 24 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.
Of Maori, Cook Islander, and Tahitian descent, I have spent 24 years building genuine trust in Aboriginal and First Nations communities across Australia. That trust is not manufactured. It cannot be trained into existence. It comes from blood and from showing up for a quarter of a century.
I built Step Into Your Power because nothing else was working. Thousands coached and trained across employment and community programs. More than 5,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants. 97% completion rate across government-funded programs.
When I walk into a room with Aboriginal participants, something shifts before I say a word. That is what I bring that no qualification can replicate.
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
Start the conversation
Bring Step Into Your Power to your caseload.
Bring this into your cohort.
Your location. Your timeline. Reach out to discuss delivery and suitability. Sean responds within 24 hours.