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Worker’s Name: April Pan
Organisation/Service/Project: Metro Migrant Resource Centre
Telephone/Email:
9789 3744, april.pan@metromrc.org.au
Website address:
www.metromrc.org.au
Initiative/Project
- Volunteering
Opportunities:
Mentor Overview
New Migrant
Employment Support and Mentoring Program
Funded by
ClubGrants in 2012/2013, the New Migrant Employment Support and Mentoring
Program is designed to help new migrants settling in the Canterbury LGA to
overcome barriers to employment by better understanding the Australian labour
market and acquiring relevant skills. There are three key components in the
program:
-
Community
education sessions on the Australian labour market
-
Mentoring
support for job seekers
-
Producing
and disseminating career pathway resources
As the most
important component of the program, we are seeking a number of mentors to
support the job seekers enrolled in the program.
Purpose
of mentor support:
What we see
in the experience of job hunting in many new migrants is not only the language
barrier and lack of local qualification and experience, but sometimes more
importantly, lack of knowledge and resource. Many things that settled migrants
who have already gone through or Australians simply take for granted, poses
great obstacles for new migrants, such as but not limited to:
-
Knowledge
of the Australia job market, career pathways and prospects of certain
professions.
-
Expectations/requirements
of certain jobs and whether one is able to handle some responsibilities. For
example, a childcare worker may be required to carry babies so someone with
injuries in their arms or backs may not be able to do it.
-
Cultural
differences
-
Industry
trends and professional development opportunities
Such lack of
knowledge stops new migrants from taking the most effective approaches in their
job hunting, forces them to make
uninformed decisions into a job/career or training which may not suit their
skills or circumstances, only to waste precious time and money.
The purpose
of mentor support in this program aims to provide job seekers such knowledge
and resource brought forward by their fellow migrants who have gone through a
similar challenging
journey. It is expected the mentors would inform the mentees, to their
knowledge, the qualification, skills and experience one must obtain to enter
certain professions; expectations and careers prospects in those professions,
as well as barriers in job seeking and how to overcome them.
It is
expected through the mentor support, job seekers (mentees) will feel an
increased sense of self-worth and empowerment; they will be better informed of
their professions in Australia and will feel empowered to tackle challenges and
make an informed decision on where to go next on their careers choices.
Benefits
of being a mentor in the program:
-
Help
your fellow migrants in their job hunting and settlement experience in
Australia and contribute to a more positive experience of other people
-
Enhance
your skills in coaching, counselling and modelling
-
Development
your personal leadership, demonstrate and share your knowledge, experience and
skills
-
Gain
recognition and respect
-
Learn
new perspectives and approaches
-
Your
efforts will be rewarded and expenses be reimbursed. We pay each mentor a small
fee of $800 for their valuable contribution over the period of the program
which is expected to be 6-8 months.
Requirement
of Mentors:
-
Themselves
or their parents come from a non-English speaking background
-
Have
qualifications or experience in one of the highly sought-after professions for
many new migrants, including but not limit to: accounting, engineering, IT,
social and community service, child care, aged care, small business,
administration
-
Commitment
to remain in the role for the entire 6-8 months of the program
-
Capacity
to attend a half-day mentor training; to meet the mentees at least three times
in the duration of the program and on top of these face-to-face meetings,
to be available for approximately one
hour per fortnight with the mentees on any communication means
-
Preferably
have a ABN to receive payments. Please discuss with us if you don’t.
Mentor
Training
Mentors are
required to attend a 4-hour training where they will be introduced to
essentials of mentoring. They will also be briefed on the program, their
responsibilities and other relevant matters.
Mentor
Mentee Matching
Mentors and
mentees from similar professional backgrounds and reside/work in close
neighbourhoods will be introduced and matched in a matching meeting.
Application
and Selection of Mentors:
If you’re
interested in contributing your time and knowledge in this program, please send
a brief cover letter and resume to April Pan at april.pan@metromrc.org.au by Wed 12
Dec 2012. You will then be contacted before the mid of Jan to inform you of a
decision. Depending on the number of applications, we may ask you to come in
for a short interview.
Please feel
free to contact April via email or on 9789 3744 if you have any questions
before you apply.
