In August 2021, MTC Australia’s Business Development Manager, Wissam Kamali, attended a networking session and meeting with the Canterbury-Bankstown Multicultural Inter-Agency. He met Saja Hamwi, a Muslim Women Australia’s (MWA) Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS) caseworker. They realised that both of their organisations had various initiatives they had been implementing to support their people to find meaningful employment.
When Wissam talked about the purpose of our SEE program and the real benefits our customers get from the course, Saja suggested a collaboration where they could use the SEE program to support MWA clients with training in job readiness and employability skills. With a common goal in mind, both Wissam and Saja were eager to see how we could assist these people, especially given the extremely challenging employment climate in which they found themselves.
An online information session was set up and presented by our SEE Expansion Manager, Shamini Bourdon, who spoke to MWA’s clients about the SEE Pathways Job Search and Skills course, which could provide them with the training they need needed to apply for and succeed in finding various employment opportunities. The training would have a strong focus on increasing their resume and cover letter writing skills, their proficiency with Microsoft Office, and give them a hand with career planning and picking which jobs to apply for. MWA clients were extremely excited about participating and were especially drawn to the online delivery learning model, which meant they could complete the training from the comfort of home.
The only thing left to do was get the interested people enrolled in the SEE program. Almost all of the people who wished to join were volunteer jobseekers, which presented an interesting challenge. They were not linked with an employment service provider who would traditionally refer job seekers to courses. The SEE program had only recently expanded its eligibility criteria to include volunteer job seekers. The referral process was still being fine-tuned and solidified, making enrollment extremely difficult. However, with the help, dedication, and determination of both MTC Australia and Muslim Women Australia, we overcame this challenge, and classes started in the middle of February this year!
The course ran for four weeks, with three online classes each week. The students all worked hard outside of the classes, completing independent study to ensure they fully understood the course material. Their trainer, Ajin Karim, worked tirelessly to support her students through the process, leading to fantastic results!
The program was extremely successful, with half of the students successfully finding a job and another quarter receiving interview invitations.
We would like to recognise and thank all of the hard work that went into achieving this excellent result and congratulate everyone who is now taking control of their future!
