CONFERENCE EDITION PURPOSE. LEADERSHIP. PROGRESS: 40 YEARS AND BEYOND Click Below Link To Download the PDF. http://fecca.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/FECCA-mosaic-Issue-53_WEB.pdf

At a Glance: Target participants: Newly arriving skilled migrants in Darwin region Aim: The vision is to assist migrants professionally in the provision of settlement, employment, training, social enterprise opportunities and establish their life to integrate well into Australian socio economic and civic life. Organisations involved: Ignite Potential Inc Location: Darwin and Palmerston Funding: Fostering Integration grant Description: Finding work as a skilled migrant can be a challenging task in Australia and can take several months. But for participants of Ignite Potential, a Darwin based NFP, it was a different experience. Onboarding (7 hrs) – One day program covering all tools of trade for smooth transition to settlement as a skilled migrant. Various topics such as the following will be covered during this session. – Creating your personal brand – Job search and applying for a job – Establishing your network in a new country – Writing your resume to win an interview – Australian Qualifications to look for if required – Understanding culture and how to fit in a new workplace – What successful people do differently – What do Australian employers think and expect of their staff – Volunteering Cultural competence training (5 hrs) – SBS Cultural Competence program for gaining cultural competency The Cultural Competence Program (CCP) is an online training course aimed at building capability around cultural diversity in the workplace in Australia. The program explores topics including cross-cultural communication, addressing stereotypes, unconscious bias, diversity in the workplace, and enhance understanding about the benefits of multiculturalism to Australia. Three months ongoing mentoring support. (5 hrs) – Experienced mentors providing career coaching This is a one-on-one coaching service. It helps migrants to gain confidence and understand the right way to prepare themselves and reach out to employers or businesses for a career start. “8 of those 11 participants have found jobs in their profession within a month after the three month program,” says Sulal Mathai, one of the founders of Ignite Potential.’ Ignite collaborated with a number of partners such as Australian Red cross, FairWork Ombudsman, Treeti Consulting – Entrepreneurship facilitators and Industry leaders which ensures that the program offers a ‘one stop shop’ for all the information required to know by a new migrant in Australia. “That’s a 73% per cent success rate. If we continue delivering this program, it can help other migrants find work and help them settle smoothly in regional areas, says Mr Mathai. “And we can easily replicate this model across Australia.” This free program was made possible by the Federal Government’s Fostering Integration Grant of $50,000. Ignite Potential presented their approach and outcomes at the FECCA Conference held at Hobart in October 2019. For more information visit: info@ignitepotential.org.au www.ignitepotential.org.au Sulal Mathai Project Director 0426065677 Original Article: https://scoa.org.au/our-publications/newsletter/october-2019/around-the-sector-october-2019/2-2/

A small not-for-profit organisation in Darwin, Ignite Potential’s pilot program ‘Onboarding and Mentoring for newly arrived skilled migrants’ has seen a majority of participants find work in a short span. Finding work as a skilled migrant can be a challenging task in Australia and can take several months. But for Candida Rego, a newly arrived skilled migrant, it was a different experience. Ms Rego, originally from India, who had settled in Dubai, arrived in Darwin, Northern Territory in April this year and found a job in her own field within a month. “I had a few friends who had moved from the UAE to Darwin and they said Australia is a great country to live,” Ms Rego told SBS Hindi. “I had heard about how finding work can be tough but I took a different approach,” she shares. Ms Rego, instead of diving straight into job hunting upon arriving in Australia, took the first few weeks to settle down and assimilate with the local community. “Instead of applying for jobs straight away, I took my time to make friends, understand the community, volunteer, get a driving license and learn more about this new country,” says Ms Rego. “I started attending my local church, joined the choir and a local badminton group. That is where I learnt about this program by ‘Ignite Potential’ which was about to pilot a program to help skilled migrants find work in Australia. “The first day itself was a fantastic experience. We heard from employers about what they look for in a candidate, how to write a CV and a lot about work culture here.” Ms Rego says the workshop gave her a good insight into the Australian job market. Equipped with all the knowledge gained from the workshop, she began her job-hunting process and landed a job, in her field, within a month. “Australian work culture is very different from where I come from. I learnt little nuances like how to write your CV, how volunteering can help build a network, how to follow up after applying. It helped me a lot. The workshop was fantastic. I started job hunting in June and I landed my first job in July,” Ms Rego says. Ms Rego and ten other newly skilled migrants were part of the first pilot program by a small not-for-profit organisation in Darwin, Ignite Potential, which ran a three-month program to assist new migrants find work in Australia. The program consists of three modules which include a day-long induction session, SBS cultural competence training and on-going mentoring support where migrants are paired with professionals from their own fields. “Seven of those 11 participants have found jobs in their own field today,” says Sulal Mathai, one of the founders of Ignite Potential. “That’s a 60 per cent success rate. If we continue delivering this program, it can help other migrants find work and help them settle smoothly in regional areas. Most of the time people are reluctant to move because of lack of support service. This can eliminate that fear,” says Mr Mathai. “And we can easily replicate this model across Australia.” This free program was made possible by the Federal Government’s Fostering Integration Grant of $50,000. Ignite Potential will be presenting their approach and advocating for national-level initiatives for better migrant employment outcomes at the FECCA Conference in Hobart in October 2019. The group will run a second workshop in October. Original Story Link : https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/helping-migrants-settle-in-regional-australia-remote-body-shows-how-it-is-done

For many skilled migrants, finding work in their industry or field has been an uphill task. A recent report, Australia’s Skilled Migration Program: Scarce Skills Not Required by Bob Birrell states that many occupations like accounting and engineering on the Skilled Occupations Lists are in oversupply and therefore most recently arrived skilled migrants to Australia have not found professional jobs. Other career experts have attributed this to a lack of knowledge of the job market and lacking cultural competence to fit into the work culture. But now a new program - 'Onboarding and Mentoring' designed by Ignite Potential, a not for profit organisation in Darwin, Northern Territory, aimed at specifically helping skilled migrants, is set to change this. “People struggle to find work. And then in desperateness, give up hope to find work in their field based on their qualifications and end up doing odd jobs,” says Sulal Mathai, one of the founders of Ignite Potential. “We saw a gap in the support services provided to newly-arrived skilled visa holders and came up with this new program where we induct them into the Australian way of life, help them find work and provide cultural competence training to them,” he adds. The new program is provided in the form of workshops, training and mentorship and is open to everyone.  “Skilled migrants in Darwin who have arrived in 2019 will be able to avail this program free of cost, made possible by Federal Government’s Fostering Integration Grant of $50,000,” Mr Mathai says. "Some aspects of the program can be availed by international students too." The program was launched on Friday in Darwin by Mr Luke Gosling OAM, Federal member of Solomon. “We are inviting ten new migrants to join us this end of April to be a part of this new program. There will be a one-day induction, cultural competence program by SBS and we will connect these newly-arrived skilled migrants with a mentor from their field for a three-month mentorship program,” he adds. The program will be delivered thrice spread across the year and the organisers hope to replicate this pilot project across other cities in Australia to help other skilled migrants. “We will be evaluating the success of this program. Based on the outcome, we hope to take this program to other major cities like Melbourne and Sydney. We think skilled migrants really need this support,” Mr Mathai says.

People migrate to their dream countries across the world to settle their lives. Since diversity has no more been viewed as a challenge and instead viewed as an opportunity it raises the bar and provides an opportunity to move around. The most sought migrant destinations such as Australia, Canada, US and UK requires tough requirements and qualifications. Once we pass all the hurdles for the visa comes the search for the job and stress situation of waiting period. I personally went through this experience in 2016 and would like to share my experience so that future migrants may find it helpful. I migrated to Darwin, Australia in August 2016 on a work visa for Human Resources and joined Danila Dilba Health Services on October 17, 2016 as their HR Manager working with the Executive Management team. Exciting isn’t it? Let me take you through the preparation stage. Preparation stage Once you apply for your visa, you should start searching for the job requirements and your prospects of getting onto your career. Every Country has got own requirements and legislations which we should be prepared to adapt. As an HR Professional I looked at professional membership and certificate courses available. As soon as I received the visa approval I joined AHRI (Australian Human Resources Institute) and received membership as a CAHRI professional member. This membership is reserved for established HR professionals, who have a career in HR and a proven track record in HR management. This will help you to build credibility to your profile and convince employers of your passion. After applying for jobs from abroad I realized that without local experience it is tough to get into a managerial position. I was not willing to give up. I decided to do a four months certification course in HR which will add some weightage to cover the local experience. I did go through free online courses from Australian industrial associations as well. It helped me to land in Darwin with confidence. After arrival I was one of the fortunate to have my previous job available online for the first two months in Australia. Further as soon as I landed I joined a friend’s restaurant business helping them in the café and assisting them in HR matters as it was just a two months old business. Working in a restaurant for close to three months I would say meeting new people every day is the best thing to do when you land in a new Country. It boosts your confidence and may also give you a turning point at times to convert the meet and greet to an opportunity! Along with my online and restaurant jobs, certification course and job applications I utilized all the opportunities to network locally. The October Business Month (OBM) events in Darwin during October 2016 helped me to attend various workshops and network with management professionals. I met with recruitment consultants and seek their suggestions to ensure that I stay current with the market. We always have the assumption that applying for more jobs will increase job prospects. As an HR Professional interviewed and recruited diverse workforce across the globe I can assure you that every recruiter is expecting a near perfect candidate to fill their position. Hence instead of applying for many jobs my suggestion is to focus on your career and apply for closely matched positions. This will help you to sharpen the application and offers the possibility of a telephonic discussion. As time goes by employers have realized that resume alone shouldn’t be a benchmark to schedule an interview. So you may expect to receive an unplanned telephonic discussion to map your communication and technical knowhow. This will determine your interview opportunity. You may also ensure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and recommendations from your previous managers and colleagues can be a great help! Networking time Networking with professionals locally can be a game changer! I was mentored by a senior HR Professional towards interview preparation and basic knowhow of local legislations. I also received advice from the course instructor of the HR Certification course. Most surprisingly I met an HR Consultant at the restaurant and later on realized that she was one of the consultants I had emailed my resume from abroad. I contacted her the very next day by email sharing my excitement and she was very happy to extend a helping hand with mindful of suggestions and upcoming possible opportunities. Through her I came to know about the HR Manager opportunity at Danila Dilba! Once the employer feel confident on your ability to communicate you will receive an interview opportunity. I would say you should prepare for this interview like there is no second chance. Beyond my last one year preparation for the right job, I prepared myself with going through all possible channels to ensure that I am aware of the right information about Danila Dilba. I enjoyed the interview with the panel and at the end of the interview provided them a file named as “My Story” which portrays my career story since graduation and achievements till date. With gods blessings my efforts and wait was worthwhile and I was selected for the job. It was my first interview in Australia! I trust god and the credit goes to my wife, parents and family who stood strong behind me during this time. All you need is a planned approach and successful implementation of your plan to avoid the long waiting and difficult emotional period. I am happy to help and any questions please mail me at sulalpm@gmail.com . Thank you for reading and please share your feedback.