Originally released: January 14, 2021
for immediate release
COVID-proof vocational courses launched
An innovative new suite of COVID-proof vocational courses aimed at helping jobseekers from migrant and refugee backgrounds find work has been launched by migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia.
The courses offer flexible, online and digital learning options developed by AMES through the months of Victoria’s COVID-19 lockdowns which saw classroom-based learning suspended.
Commencing in XXXX the courses offer flexible learning options for students and will also improve their digital skills. Students can learn online or through a mixed mode of online, classroom and provided workbooks, depending on the course and where they want to study.
The courses recognise that digital skills are becoming more important in both daily life and in finding and keeping meaningful and secure employment.
They include vocational training courses aimed at supporting jobseekers to enter sectors with growing numbers of jobs such as aged care, child care and personal services or individual support; as well as a new specially tailored course in ‘English for Vocational Education’ which helps prepare students for vocational courses.
The courses are being offered with full-time and part-time study options and include the opportunity to gain experience through practical placements in the workplace.
AMES Australia CEO Cath Scarth said her organisation was excited to be delivering the new suite of courses.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic we saw many vocational and educational courses interrupted, so we have designed this new suite of educational offerings to be flexible enough to respond to any further disruptions,” Ms Scarth said.
“And we have focused the courses in sectors where we know there will be increasing numbers of jobs into the future,” she said
“We know that digital skills are becoming ever more important in learning and in most workplaces, so we have included strong elements of digital literacy in all of our courses.
“And we also know that practical local experience is often critical in gaining employment. So, most of our courses include real-life work placements, which often lead to our students receiving offers of employment,” Ms Scarth said.
Student Roy Sana said that completing an online course with AMES Australia had improved his employability and given him confidence as he looks to make a career change late in life.
Roy said AMES’ Three Steps to Employment online course he enrolled in late last year had given him the tools to relaunch his career.
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“At the start of this process, I thought I knew what I was doing,” Roy said.
“But what I realised was that although I had all this knowledge and experience, I hadn’t actually put it down on paper and worked out how it should be structured,” he said.
“That’s what the course did for me. The CV I’ve had for years has been rejigged and refined and my cover letter is much better than it was. Now, when I see a job advert, I analyse it more thoroughly.
“I found the course really useful. The classes were really engaging and I would recommend them to anyone.
“No matter what stage of your career you’re at, these online courses can really help,” Roy said.
AMES Australia has education hubs in Footscray, Melbourne’s CBD, Box Hill, Noble Park, Werribee and Mildura
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