Eight of fifteen AMES Pathways to Employment course students sent out on work placements recently were offered jobs by their hosts.

The result underpins the success of the courses and the value of having professional volunteers mentor students looking for work in specialist fields.

The group which achieved the positive jobs outcome was this week mentored by a group of five HR professionals from Telstra.

AMES teacher Sat Devi said the work of volunteer mentors was greatly appreciated.

“The students got a lot out of the visit” said Sat Devi, AMES Teacher.  “It was good to have these corporate visitors in the last week of the course as it brought together everything the students had learned”.

“The Telstra visitors helped them to understand why recruiters ask particular questions and gave suggestions about how best to answer them. They also gave some very good tips on what to do as well as what not to do. It was a very practical session.”

The students were celebrating some excellent job outcomes which came about during their work placements. Eight students were offered employment by their hosts, a result which underlines the value of this course.

Pathways student Gopikrishna said that the course and the help of mentors had greatly enhanced his job prospects.

He said he had sent out 250 applications before beginning the AMES course.

“It’s been very good for me. Before, I didn’t know how to prepare a CV or job applications,” said Gopikrishna, from Sri Lanka.

After completing most of the course, he secured a job in housekeeping at a leading hotel.

“I was on a work placement and on the second day, the manager offered me a job,” he said.

Fellow student Margarita said she also found the course was very useful.

“It gave me a good understanding of the practices in workplace here in Australia,” said Margarita, from Russia.

For more information on this story, contact Susy Barry on: 0418 998 306