Having completed a seven-week pre-apprenticeship course, the two 22-year-olds have managed to secure work as part of the expansion of Wagga Base Hospital.

As a cohort of 12, Mr Johnson and Mr Traynor join five other recent graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds with new positions on job sites around Wagga.

While Mr Johnson has begun work as a scaffolding trainee, Mr Traynor will continue as an apprentice carpenter.

The new positions represent a sharp change to their lives up to this point. Especially for Mr Traynor, who had never held down a full-time job before securing the apprenticeship.

"There's a lot of support, they help us out here all the time," Mr Traynor said, of his newfound colleagues.

Similarly, Mr Johnson said that it was through the support of those around him on and off the job site that he was able to take on the new role.

"It's been a pretty good experience, I don't mind it or the people I'm with. I'd recommend the course, you just have to turn up, do what you need to do, and you'll get there," he said.

Their success so quickly after completing the course has provided enormous promotion for the program.

"It's about leaving a legacy of employment in Wagga, knowing that there are generations of the same family struggling to find work," said Ashleigh Cartwright, senior project officer with ISLP, which funded the program.

Partnering in their ambition to break the family cycle of poverty, ATEL business development manager Mitchell Finnessy said he is excited to see where their new roles will take them.

"This is huge, it's life-changing for them. They might have come from a rough upbringing, they mightn't have been able to hold a secure job before and now, here they've found a career," Mr Finnessy said.

As their case manager in the 'Starting Off Stepping Out' program, Jennifer English has worked in the background to create a seamless transition into the workforce.

"We did the early morning pick-ups for TAFE and supported them with their daily needs," Ms English said.

"Young people in Wagga are at a high risk of homelessness. Housing and transport are the hardest things for young people to deal with in getting and staying in employment. The goal is to stop generational unemployment so that these guys can then empower their younger brothers and sisters too."

Assisted by the Multicultural Council of Wagga, as well as Training Service NSW, the Department of Communities and Justice, TAFE NSW, Atel and CPB Contractors, the program involved five weeks of TAFE work broken up by two weeks on the site.

"Without this opportunity, they would be still looking for work and struggling to stay motivated to find it," said Ben Thompson from the Multicultural Council.

"[Our support] doesn't stop now that they're in employment though. Now that they're here, we will continue to assist them to keep the employment."