Free language and vocational courses are helping migrants and refugees land rewarding full-time jobs across Sunraysia.
The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) and Settlement Language Pathways to Employment and Training (SLPET) courses, delivered by AMES Australia, are setting people on career pathways in sectors that are crying out for workers. And they offer students the opportunity to do paid work as they study.
Tibetan refugee Lobsang Dorji has landed his dream job as an apprentice chef at Mildura’s Grand Hotel after completing the courses.
“It is my dream to work as a chef and I have an apprenticeship with Stefano at the Grand Hotel. I am very happy to be setting out on my career,” Lobsang said.
“The courses and work placement at AMES were very useful to me and helped me to get my job. I am still studying English classes with AMES to improve my English,” he said.
Lobsang fled his homeland for India in 2005. He studied for a diploma in hospitality in India and worked at the Radisson Hotel in New Delhi before coming to Australia as refugee in March 2022. He hopes to bring his wife, who is still in India, to join him in Mildura.
“Life in Mildura is good. There are opportunities and it will be a good place to bring up a family,” he said
Vietnamese migrant Thi Minh Uoc Ngo has secured a job at Woolworths in Mildura after completing a course with AMES.
As part of her course, she did a work placement at the store which led to her being offered a job.
“The course was very useful, it was really great. It taught me about what a workplace in Australia looks like. After just a month of going on a placement, I was offered a job,” Minh said.
“The course is very thorough. It teaches you all of the practical skills you need to know,” she said.
Lobsang and Minh’s teacher at AMES Albi Dinkar said the pair had excelled in their studies.
“It is very rewarding to help newly arrived people to get their first job in Australia. It can be difficult for people with no local experience so it’s very rewarding and satisfying to be able to support them.” Albi said.
SLPET is a federal government funded short course for AMEP students to prepare for work and further training in Australia. It covers the language used in Australian workplaces, how to look for work, resume writing and the application process, what to expect in a job interview as well as workplace health and safety rules.
To find out more about language and vocational courses with AMES, contact Dinkar Sudhakaran on Phone: 03 99264032 or email: sudhakarand@ames.net.au
AMES Australia is an AMEP provider in Regional Victoria. AMEP is funded by the Department of Home Affairs. You can learn more at https://www.ames.net.au/students/about-amep