An innovative new employment program is fast-tracking refugee jobseekers into work while also speeding up their settlement journeys and supporting them to build connections into the broader society.

Hundreds of refugees have been supported into employment, even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, through the Refugee Training and Employment (RTE) program.

The initiative, developed by migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia in Melbourne and Sydney, has placed 416 refugees in employment this year and is also establishing pathways to help new arrivals achieve their longer term settlement goals through education, training and experience in the workplace.

More than a hundred other participants have been guided into educational and training pathways aimed at future employment through the program.  

The RTE program is a wrap-around service that sees the settlement, education and employment service offerings brought together to make refugee settlement journeys faster and better.

RTE team members work with newly arrived refugees to identify their goals and aspirations and then put in place strategies aimed at achieving these goals.

The program also works with prospective employers, helping them appreciating the benefits of employing refugees.  

It assists newly arrived refugees in learning how to apply their skills and experience in the workplace, find opportunities to upskill or reskill in an Australian context and navigate the job market.

The RTE program also harnesses other resources such as: mentoring by volunteers; funding for work ready necessities, such as clothing and protective equipment; support in acquiring drivers’ licences; training referrals; skills recognition; and, pathway counselling.

AMES Australia CEO Cath Scarth said the RTE was designed to build on the strengths refugees bring with them while also tailoring individual support based on a particular refugee’s needs.

“We designed the RTE as a specialist mentoring and support program to provide intensive and individual support and skill development to ensure our refugee clients had a better chance in our competitive labour market,” Ms Scarth said.

“The program also focuses on supporting employers to accommodate and embrace the new skills they gain by employing our refugee client,” she said.

AMES Australia’s Industry and Client Manager Mandy Ratcliffe said that gaining employment was a critical step for new arrivals in Australia to successfully building a new life.

“Having a job allows refugees and their families to become self-reliant and provides a sense of economic security and belonging,” Ms Ratcliffe.

AMES Australia’s General Manager Employment Peter Harrison said the program recognised that a one-size-fits-all approach to supporting refugees find work through mainstream employment services did not recognise the particular barriers refugees faced.

“We have tailored the RTE to provide a variety of approaches and pathways to provide individualised support to refugee jobseekers,” Mr Harrison said.

“For many of these people, the program has helped them secure the all-important first job in Australia which helps them further develop their English, achieve financial independence and a better understanding of Australian workplace culture,” he said.

RTE graduate and former Eritrean refugee Dermas Abraha was supporting into work by the program after struggling to find a job since arriving in Australia in May, 2019.

The qualified marine engineer is now working at an engineering company in Melbourne’s north.

“The RTE was really useful in helping me find a job. The team welcomed me and mentored me from the very beginning,” Mr Abraha said.

“They guided me through my settlement journey and in integrating into a new community,” he said.

“My wife and my three kids are now well settled and are very happy in our lives in Australia,” Mr Abraha said.