Bilingual staff to connect community members to local employment and training opportunities
Settlement Services International’s (SSI) services in Victoria for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities have recently expanded to include support for job seekers.
SSI is one of more than 75 Jobs Victoria Partners in communities across the state providing free support to people looking for work. Part of the Victorian Government’s $619.4 million Jobs Victoria initiative, they help Victorians get back to work and connect employers with the staff they need.
As a Jobs Victoria Partner, SSI delivers tailored employment-related assistance to people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Western and Southern Melbourne. Staff help people looking for work to access the support, information and advice they need to find a job that’s right for them in two ways:
- Jobs Victoria Mentors support people to become job-ready and find a job that suits them. Mentors support people in their job for the first six months. They also work with employers to understand their staffing needs and connect them with suitable local candidates.
- Jobs Victoria Advocates share useful information about finding a job and connect people with services that can support them in their job search such as help with resume and interview preparation. Advocates connect people to other Jobs Victoria programs as well as community services such as accommodation, cultural organisations, education, English classes, family services, health services, legal help, networks and working groups, religious communities and settlement support in their local area.
“We’re proud to add employment support to our range of services for Melbourne’s CALD communities. Right now this service is particularly important as our refugee, asylum seeker and migrant communities have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic,” said Sonia Vignjevic, SSI State Director.
“We know that the main barriers facing migrant and refugee job seekers include insufficient Australian work experience, understanding of how to navigate the employment system, limited support with resumes and interview skills, and limited English proficiency.
“Our experienced bilingual, community-based staff are addressing these unique barriers and support community members to connect to local employment and training opportunities.
“We applaud the Victorian Government’s initiative in supporting tailored job seeker services,” she said.
