A young Afghan refugee has been supported to gain an apprenticeship as an electrician thanks to a partnership between apprenticeship provider MEGT and migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia.
Syed Ghazanfer Mosavi has been hired by K2 Electrix, based in Doveton, in Melbourne's south east, as part of the MEGT Employability Skills Training (EST) PaTH Pilot program, part of the federal government's Youth Jobs PaTH program.
An Afghan Hazara refugee, Syed arrived in Australia last year and has struggled to find work, particularly since the lockdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 23-year-old was born in Pakistan, where his parent had fled because of the religious and ethnic persecution of the Hazara minority.
“Life was difficult in Pakistan because we living there illegally and we had no certainty about the future," Syed said.
“I am really happy and grateful to be in Australia and life is good here," Syed said.
“But it was very hard to find a job after I arrived last year, and even harder after the COVID pandemic came along," he said.
“Now, I'm really happy I have an apprenticeship and it's going really well. I want to make this my career and maybe one day open my own business," Syed said.
His employer Azim Mosawi said Syed was progressing well.
“He's just started but is doing well. He wanted to become an electrician and we needed some new people, so we worked with MEGT and AMES to make it happen. They made it easier for us to be able to take Syed on," Azim said.
Syed was a client of AMES' Individualised Pathway Plan (IPP) which aims to speed up the settlement and employment journeys of refugees by identifying gaps between employer expectations and client's current competencies and supporting them to learn how to apply their skills and experience in the workplace.
The IPP also finds opportunities to upskill or reskill in the Australian Labour market as well as preparing refugees with knowledge and confidence to communicate in the workplace.
Syed was referred by AMES Work Broker Razia Aslam to MEGT, which runs an Employability Skills Training program in Melbourne's south east.
“Syed was very keen to find a job and he was very motivated. The great result of Syed gaining an apprenticeship was a result of our partnership with MEGT but also because of Syed's drive and will to succeed," Razia said.
MEGT PaTh Employment Consultant Emily Harris said the partnership between her organisation and AMES Australia was key to the outcome.
“Syed's is a great success and it was wonderful to be part of it," she said.
“It goes to show what can be achieved when organisations collaborate and work closely together," Emily said.
This update is written by AMES Australia Media Team.