Employment Pathways

ASRC staff member in meeting with man who is seeking asylum

Preparing for work

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.

Professional mentoring

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.

employment pathways for people seeking asylum

Employer partnerships

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. 

Read our employment research report: people seeking asylum. 

ASRC Employment Program

The ASRC Employment Program offers employers skilled, prepared and committed workers keen to contribute their skills, resilience and ingenuity to the Australian community.

Register Your Interest Here

ASRC Employment Program

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. 

Employers Please Register Your Interest

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