Local Focus: Dressed for success

Demi-Lee Halbert is one of many Dress for Success success stories.

Demi-Lee Halbert started her working life in an orchard when she was 20.

After picking kiwifruit for four years, she decided to try her hand at hospitality.

But she wasn't sure exactly how to get there, so headed to Rotorua's Dress for Success for some advice.

"I had quite low confidence and I wasn't too sure what kind of career I wanted or where I was heading," she said.

"I was able to gain the right support and advice into finding something that I have skills and experience in.

"I was able to sit down with someone and get one-on-one support with creating my CV."

Dress for Success is a global organisation helping women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support and tools to help them thrive in work and in life.

Since 1997, it has expanded to 150 cities in 25 countries and has helped more than 1.2 million women work towards self-sufficiency.

It is in seven locations in New Zealand. A primary role is to help women with the wardrobe they need to secure job opportunities.

Rotorua Dress For Success operations and event manager Wendy Wilkins said it was about empowering people.

"We offer a wrap-around service that enables them to find long-term employment and to provide a sustainable financial independence for them and their families."

She said working with clients like Demi-lee was the best part of her job.

"The lovely Demi-Lee came in here very low in confidence and self-esteem, however, she realised that she needed to find a job and she had been for a couple of interviews.

"She had tried applying her CV to various positions and she came in basically saying, 'I'm applying for jobs but there are no jobs out there.'

"They are advertising, but I'm not getting anything. We had a look at her CV and it didn't have all the information that she had and she had this great idea that I haven't done this before so I can't do it."

Soon Halbert secured her first job in hospitality. She is now employed as a front-of-staff at Abracadabra Cafe and Bar in Rotorua.

Dress for Success supports hundreds of Rotorua women, just like Halbert, each year.

It was recently awarded a community grant from the Rotorua Lakes Council.

Wilkins said the grant was good timing.

"Covid has affected everybody and every organisation and every business.

"We watch the news - we know that - but for charities right now it's really hard.

"Because the legs of support that we were used to having are just being gnawed at by every other charity as well because the need is so desperate, especially here in Rotorua, and so we've found that those sorts of grants are really beneficial."