Ten AMES Australia clients are among around 30 cadets accepted into a state government program to recruit refugee and asylum seeker professionals to work on Victoria’s major infrastructure projects.
Two female engineers from Syria Hayat Mnayrji and Zinah Alebrahim are among those who gained cadetships with the Engineering Pathways Industry Cadetship (EPIC) scheme through their association with AMES’ Career Pathway Pilot program which supports refugee professionals resume their careers in Australia.
Hayat and Zinah said they were pleased and grateful to be part of the EPIC program.
“This is giving us a chance to show that we can contribute and to show what we can do,” Zinah said.
“It is a great opportunity for all of us because if you have no local experience it is very hard to break into the job market in Australia,” she said
The EPIC program is aimed at helping people from refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds overcome barriers to workforce participation and is supported by several government departments, engineering firms as well as migrant and refugee support agencies such as AMES Australia.
AMES Australia Mentoring & Employer Engagement Specialist Drue Vickery said the EPIC pilot program will see engineering cadets undertake paid employment and training over 18 months to receive a Graduate Certificate in infrastructure engineering.
“The accredited qualification is customised to the requirements of transport infrastructure which will see $60 billion spent on it over the next decade providing employment and career opportunities,” Drue said.
“And the industry recognises that recruiting people with the skills needed to build these projects will be a challenge so it is reaching out to untapped pools of talent such as refugees and asylum seekers,” he said.
AMES CEO said it was fantastic to see that industry was recognising talent, resilience and diligence that refugees and asylum seekers possessed.
If anyone is interested in more information on the cadetships, contact Drue Vickery: 61417 053 194 / vickeryd@ames.net.au