Spotlight on Wunan Staff
27 September 2012
Drivers Licence Facilitator – Andris Strautins
Meagan Brown (pictured above) is one of the young people Andris Strautins has helped get her Learners. Andris works with Wunan Employment Services as a Drivers Licence Facilitator – another unusual job description. Being unable to drive is a significant impediment to obtaining employment in the East Kimberley where many of the opportunities are in the mining or agricultural sectors. However many Aboriginal people have difficulty obtaining a licence due to missing paperwork such as birth certificates or previous involvement with the authorities. Andris works with the various government agencies to produce the necessary documentation, resolve outstanding issues and remove obstacles to enable a drivers licence to be issued.
Andris has been extremely successful in this unconventional but very necessary line of work. His current case load exceeds 300 people and he has successfully helped over 160 people to achieve outcomes that have allowed them to obtain licences in his time with Wunan.
Assisting people to obtain drivers licences is yet another example of innovation leading to positive outcomes.
Wunan is currently perusing funding to continue this vital program so that it may continue to assist Aboriginal people into employment.