Work Placements That Set You Up for Your Career

The Problem We Solved

At most training providers, work placement is treated as an administrative requirement: something you need to tick off before you graduate. Find your own placement. Sort out your own logistics. Hope the organisation you land with gives you a meaningful experience.

That approach works fine if you already have professional networks in community services, mental health, or youth work. But what if you don’t? What if you’re a career changer entering a new field? What if you live regionally and don’t know anyone in the sector? What if your background didn’t come with professional connections?

We saw this happening — learners with strong networks securing quality placements easily, while learners from disadvantaged backgrounds struggled to find anything at all. The system was rewarding privilege, not effort.

So we built a different model. We guarantee every learner who needs a placement a high-quality, supervised experience in their field of study regardless of their background, their prior networks, or where in Australia they live.

How It Works

We don’t just place learners; we prepare them, match them carefully, and support them through every stage.

Step 1: Study first, placement second

You won’t start your placement until you’ve completed at least 50% of your course. This isn’t a bureaucratic rule, it’s a duty of care. Our learners work with vulnerable people during placement. We need to make sure you have the skills and knowledge to contribute meaningfully and safely before you set foot in a workplace.

“We want the learner to have at least 50% completed in their course before they start work placement. The reason is we want learners to have skills and knowledge before they set foot in a workplace, because they’re going to work with very vulnerable people.”
— Charlotte Kendrick, Training & Operations Manager | Watch the SkilTrak podcast

Step 2: Pre-placement preparation

Before your placement begins, we invest in preparation that ensures you arrive ready to contribute. This includes understanding professional expectations, workplace protocols, ethical boundaries, and the specific context of the organisation you’ll be placed with. You won’t walk in on day one feeling unprepared.

Step 3: Quality matching through SkilTrak

We partner with SkilTrak to match learners with host organisations across a wide range of community services settings. The matching process isn’t random — it considers your career goals, your interests, and your location. And you have a say in where you go.

“The SkilTrak process is absolutely excellent… it provides us with so many more opportunities and possibilities, and the learner can really drive and say yes or no.”
— Charlotte Kendrick | Watch the SkilTrak podcast

Step 4: Supervised, supported placement

During your placement, you’re not on your own. You’ll be supervised by experienced professionals at the host organisation, and your Hader support team stays in contact to make sure the experience is meeting the standard you deserve.

Step 5: Structured debrief and reflection

After your placement, we run structured reflection and debrief processes that maximise the learning value of the experience. This isn’t just about logging hours — it’s about processing what you learned, what challenged you, and how the experience shapes your career direction.

Where You’ll Be Placed

Our SkilTrak partnership connects learners with host organisations across diverse community services settings, including:

• Mental health services: community mental health centres, residential services, crisis support
• Youth services: youth outreach programs, residential care, early intervention
• Community services: family support, housing services, community development
• Alcohol and other drugs: rehabilitation centres, harm reduction programs, outpatient services
• Disability services: NDIS providers, supported independent living, day programs

We work with host organisations across Australia — including regional areas — to ensure your location isn’t a barrier to a quality placement experience.

What Our Learner Say

“My placement was just amazing. It absolutely cemented me doing mental health and said, ‘This is exactly what I wanted to do.’”
— Rinata, Mental Health learner | Watch Rinata’s story

From Placement to Employment

For many of our learners, placement becomes the bridge to their first role in the sector. Host organisations see the quality of Hader graduates firsthand — and many come back to ask for more.

“The most rewarding part of my job is when learners are actually getting a job out of their workplace.”
— Charlotte Kendrick | Watch the SkilTrak podcast

When you’re ready to transition from placement to employment, our Job-Ready Programme provides resume support, interview coaching, and job search assistance to help you take the next step.

Placement Hours by Course

Not all Hader courses require work placement. Courses in areas like AOD, counselling, and some community services qualifications use simulated practical activities instead. The following courses include mandatory supervised work placement through SkilTrak: