People feel most empowered when they are engaged in meaningful work and have the skills and resources to achieve their goals. For people seeking asylum, there can be many barriers to finding work.
Some of the biggest barriers are understanding the Australian job market and how they can become part of it. We work with hundreds of people each year at our Footscray and Dandenong centres to identify their transferable skills and experience, map their employment pathway and teach them effective ways to find and sustain employment.
Getting a grasp of the Australian workplace culture is another barrier; to meet this need we run a job readiness program. The program partners people seeing asylum with employment advisors to help them prepare for work, apply for suitable jobs and address any other barriers to employment using a vast array of tools and resources. On average we receive over 400 referrals to this program every year.
As the saying goes – “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” – which is why we run a structured mentoring program to help refugees and people seeking asylum with professional backgrounds find reliable work and develop career pathways.
The 12-month program enables people to explore their sector in Australia under their mentor’s guidance, identifying pathways to re-enter the field or related work and connecting to professional networks. It also provides broader development opportunities via events throughout the year where mentees can learn about the Australian labour market and ways to improve their employment prospects as well.
One of the best ways we can help people seeking asylum to find reliable work and develop career pathways is by partnering with employers to source suitable vacancies. We partner with over 100 employers every year; these partnerships range from long term partnerships to new employers. On average we assist people seeing asylum into 270 jobs per year into all types of roles, ranging from survival roles through to career recovery roles.
This involves working closely with employers so they are equipped to be successful in employing people seeking asylum. How? Firstly, we take the time to fully understand the employers’ needs so we can better match people seeking asylum to the employer’s specific job requirements. Then, we help employers to understand the rights and conditions of people seeking asylum, including the unique benefits of diversity in the workplace. A key element of working with employers is to ensure people seeking asylum who engage in our job readiness program are prepared for the workplace and specifically the roles they are applying for. We value sustainable employment and therefore provide onboarding and post-placement support for when they are successful in finding employment.
The ASRC Employment Program offers employers skilled, prepared and committed workers keen to contribute their skills, resilience and ingenuity to the Australian community.
The ASRC Employment Program offers employers skilled, prepared and committed workers who are keen to contribute their skills, resilience and ingenuity to the Australian community.
We focus on successful placement outcomes both for our candidates and the employer, by connecting the right person, with the right skills, to the right job.
What services do we provide for employers?
Our services for employers include recruitment, on-boarding support, and post-placement support as well as training for both our candidates and employers, which can include ongoing confirmation of our candidates’ work rights. We have a depth of experience and knowledge in assisting Employers with the interpretation of the wide range of temporary/bridging visas that people seeking asylum hold.
What types of candidates do you have?
Our Employment Program members range from professional, skilled and unskilled workers. ALL of our candidates have full work rights. They have undertaken training in Australian workplace culture and employer expectations, and have been screened for their job readiness, skills and availability.
Are there any costs to use this service?
Our services are offered free of charge. Our funding model allows us to match the right candidate to the right job with the right employer. We DO NOT collect placement fees from an employer or either the state or federal government. We report to our Funders on successful and sustainable employment outcomes on a quarterly basis.
Connect with us:
As you may be aware, there are changes occurring at the ASRC.
To plan for these changes to make the ASRC sustainable into the future:
The Footscray centre will close to all visitors every Wednesday.
Every Friday, some services will be closed but the Foodbank, Health, Legal and Hub services will remain open.
To access our services, you can phone 03 9326 6066 or come to the ASRC Footscray in person during opening hours.
The Reception Team will greet you and link you with our services.
As you may be aware, there are changes occurring at the ASRC.
To plan for these changes to make the ASRC sustainable into the future:
The Footscray centre will close to all visitors every Wednesday.
Every Friday, some services will be closed but the Foodbank, Health, Legal and Hub services will remain open.
To access our services, you can phone 03 9326 6066 or come to the ASRC Footscray in person during opening hours. The Reception Team will greet you and link you with our services.
The Government has announced it will provide pathways for TPV/SHEV holders and TPV/SHEV applicants to
be assessed for RoS visas. RoS visas are permanent visas that allow holders to live, work and study in Australia,
access government services such as Medicare and Centrelink, and sponsor eligible family members for
permanent residence.
Click here for Permanent Visa Pathways for TPV/SHEV Holders & Applicants Fact Sheet
The Fact Sheet is also available in: Dari – Urdu – Arabic – Tamil
Thanks for your interest in supporting the ASRC Telethon on World Refugee Day, Monday 20th June.
Complete this form with your details and we will send you an email reminder before the event as well as alerts throughout the day when key activities happen.
Please note: all requests submitted to the Marketing Services Model will not be worked on until 1 July 2022 to allow the team space to focus on projects such as the Winter Appeal and Telethon.
You are welcome to submit requests and we’d love to support – we ask that you please supply a reasonable due date, keeping in mind we will not tend to the request until July. Thank you!
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners across Australia and pay respect to their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. We acknowledge sovereignty of the lands upon which we work and live have never been ceded.
The centre is OPEN again from Tuesday 11th – Friday 14th (10am – 5pm).
We will return to normal operating hours (10am – 5pm, Monday – Friday), from Monday 17th of January onwards.
The centre is OPEN again from Tuesday 11th – Friday 14th (10am – 5pm).
We will return to normal operating hours (10am – 5pm, Monday – Friday), from Monday 17th of January onwards.
You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/
If you applied for a TPV or SHEV visa between 2015 and 2017 and have not already attended a Protection visa interview with the Department, please contact the ASRC urgently for legal assistance. CALL: Fast track hotline 0422035324 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) or email legal@asrc.org.au
The application interview is your only chance to explain your case to the Department. Update your contact details with the Department to receive your Interview Invitation (the ASRC can also help you do this).
Click here to learn more (Info sheet Fast Track interviews).
Click here to read info sheet in other languages.
“I can’t erase racism by myself. It’s only if we all come together to accept that there is an issue and work together that we can make a change.”
Prudence Melom, founder and CEO of E-RACED
“Growing in a refugee camp and experiencing hardship from a young age I felt very misunderstood among my peers in Australia. Kids my age did not understand why my skin was darker, they didn’t understand why my accent was a little different and they didn’t understand why I came to Australia.
“I was inspired to start E-RACED after experiencing first hand the effects of racism in this country and the power of sharing my story to completely change people’s attitudes. Never underestimate the power of one-on-one interactions and sharing stories to change the world.”
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Connect with us
Need help from the ASRC? Call 03 9326 6066 (Monday - Friday, 10am - 5pm) to book an appointment.