Mental health counselling: Surge in apprentices seeking help across the country
Announcement posted by Invigorate PR 19 Jul 2023
Australia’s leading industry funded mental health counselling service for tradies, truckies, rural and blue-collar workers, TIACS (This Is A Conversation Starter) has reported a sharp rise in the number of calls coming into the service from apprentices.
According to Jason Banks, head of partnerships with TIACS, the rise in the number of apprentices calling into TIACS for help is pleasing to see as it shows that more apprentices are being vulnerable in opening up on their daily challenges.
“Based on our June statistics, apprentices now make up 11 percent of the calls we are receiving. This means that apprentices are really feeling the challenges and pressure of the current market and the issues facing blue collar industries across the country,” Banks said.
“12 months ago, apprentices made up less than four percent of our callers. Today the number is a lot higher. While awareness of our service is growing, it means that apprentices are feeling the need to reach out. This is a good thing that they are getting help as we pride ourselves on our ability to provide good quality counselling support however it demonstrates the level of strain those working in blue collar industries are feeling.”
Banks states that overwhelmingly the key issue facing the blue-collar sector involves relationships.
“When people are under pressure, the first thing that usually starts to fracture is relationships with loved ones at home such as partners,” Banks added.
“People are pretty good at holding it together at work and then fall apart as soon as they leave. Unfortunately loved ones usually have to deal with the stress at home.”
TIACS is the country’s fastest growing support service for the tradie, truckie, rural and blue-collar sectors. The mental health counselling service is absolutely free for workers and the people that care about them. Every month demand for the service grows as blue-collar workers across the country struggle with the impact of business failures, relationship breakdowns, health challenges and workplace issues.
“Our counselling services are provided via phone and text five days a week from 8am to 10pm. They are completely confidential and every time someone contacts us for help, they continue to speak to the same qualified counsellor so there is continuity and confidence in the help provided,” Banks said.
“Tradies are doing it tough. Building sites and manufacturing environments are busy loud places where people don’t do a lot of one-on-one talking. They can also be very lonely and isolating places. Yet, these work environments can be places where people are struggling and may not have anyone to talk with.
“TAICS is very much about giving people a place they can turn to when they need to talk, without judgement. It’s what we all need really.
“Over the last 12 months alone, some 8,000 callers have utilised the service. While relationships continue to be a key theme for callers, anxiety is also a common issue which tells us that people are stressed and worried about their job, financial situation and relationships.
“For apprentices, they are facing additional strain with the cost of living sky-rocketing. If we look at the plumbing industry, apprentice wages start at just $16.13 per hour for people who have completed year 12 and are under 21. This goes up slightly to $24.20 per hour if you are a mature-age apprentice.
“Not only are apprentices dealing with industry volatility, they are also dealing with rising cost of living pressures. It must be a very difficult time for them and yet they are the future of our country. Nothing gets built, unblocked, rewired or reconnected unless someone has learned how to do it and that’s where apprentices come to the fore. We need to look after them.”
TIACS was founded by Ed Ross and Daniel Allen three years ago. The well-known duo and 2023 Australian of the Year finalists who also founded TradeMutt five years ago, a social impact workwear brand that consists of a range of bright cheerful clothing designed to get tradies ‘to start a conversation’ with each other.
TradeMutt also introduced Funky Shirt Fridays, like casual office Fridays, to give tradies a reason to wear our cheerful clothing and get people talking.
Today, TradeMutt clothing is worn all over the country every day by blue-collar workers and every shirt has a QR code that can be swiped and it takes the person wearing the shirt directly to TIACS so they can call or text for a chat. Profits from TradeMutt’s operations help to fund TIACS.
TradeMutt and TIACS have single-handedly changed the way the blue-collar community across Australia interact with each other about how they are feeling and are encouraged to reach out for support.
“Tradies face unique issues and value being able to seek help from a support service that understands the challenges they are facing,” Banks said.
“My strong advice to workplaces across the country is to take extra note of the wellbeing of your apprentices. Many are on-site learning on the job without a lot of support around them. Our statistics show that they are in need of help and someone to talk with.
“Workplaces are the most likely way for workers to hear about TIACS. For this reason is very important that workplaces make staff aware of TIACS’ counselling services. They can also encourage staff to wear TradeMutt clothing and also promote awareness of TIACS across their worksites.”
About TradeMutt
Founded by Daniel Allen and Edward Ross, 2022 Australian of the Year Qld finalists, TradeMutt is national social impact work wear brand that supports the health and wellbeing of tradies and other blue-collar workers across the country.
It designs and sells a broad range of funky work shirts and other items of clothing for tradies and encourages customers to wear the shirts as an icebreaker to get conversations going among tradies about life and how they are feeling. TradeMutt also launched the initiative Funky Shirt Friday, a tradie equivalent to casual Friday at the office, to give tradies a reason to wear their funky shirt to work.
About TIACS
TIACS, which stands for This Is A Conversation Starter, is an industry funded not-for-profit organisation founded by Ed Ross and Daniel Allen in 2020, that provides free and confidential mental health counselling by qualified counsellors to Australia’s truckies, tradies, rural and blue-collar workers and those who care about them.
TIACS offers phone and text services between the hours of 8am to 10pm, Monday to Friday, nationwide. To date, TIACS has serviced over 16,500 clients since June 2020, translating to over 15,000 hours of conversations.
Ph or TXT: 0488 846 988
Monday – Friday, 8am – 10pm
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