About the Campaign
The ASRC’s ‘Welcome Refugees into the Workforce’ Campaign aims to create a more welcoming and supportive workforce for refugees.
The ASRC campaign ‘Welcome Refugees into the Workforce’ is part of Yarra Trams Community Partnerships Program, which provides free tram wraps to community organisations making a positive impact on diversity and inclusion in Melbourne. The ASRC tram wrap will be rolling on the streets of Melbourne from June to September in tram routes 48 and 109.
In 2023, the ASRC invites the community to become more hospitable and conscious about the challenges refugees face when joining the workforce. ‘Welcome Refugees into the Workforce’ champions the resilience of refugees and fosters inclusion in the workforce.
The campaign also invites people active in the workforce, like employees, employers, business owners, or anyone who has a say in hiring, to make a pledge for welcome in support of refugees. Anyone in the community who pledges their name, will also get a FREE resource filled with tips and information to implement at workplaces or just in their personal lives for a more inclusive and equal Australian workforce.
The ASRC’s campaign champions the journey of refugees who have come to Australia seeking safety, bringing a lifetime of skills, education and work experience. The campaign also sheds light on the barriers many refugees face to finding work:
- Unfamiliar application processes,
- employers’ inexperience handling protection visas,
- language challenges,
- lack of local experience or contacts,
- employer bias
- or simply not having their overseas qualifications or work experience recognised in this country.
Five people with lived experience of seeking asylum – Marjan, Norman, Betelhem, Linda and Doreen – are the campaign heroes sharing their personal stories in written format, and a series of photographic portraits and videos that embed their resilience in finding their place in the community through meaningful job opportunities and building their future in the industries of their choice.
How you can help.
- Take action by downloading the resource: Tips and Ways to Welcome Refugees and People Seeking Asylum into the Workforce.
- Share the campaign with people from your workplace or community, especially with someone with a say in hiring. Copy the link asrc.org.au/welcome and paste it into your preferred chat with them.
- Share the stories of the five heroes with your colleagues, friends or family: asrc.org.au/welcome/refugee-stories
- Snap a picture of the tram, tag the @asrc1 on social media and use the hashtag #WelcomeRefugees to help spread the message.
- Make a donation to support the work of the ASRC, including the Employment Program helping refugees and people seeking asylum find a pathway to meaningful employment. Visit donate.asrc.org.au or call 1300 692 772 (1300 MYASRC)
The ASRC would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation as traditional owners and custodians of the land on which the ASRC stands. We acknowledge that the land was never ceded and we pay our respect to them, their customs, their culture, to elders past and present and to their emerging leaders.
This landing page is part of the campaign ‘Welcome Refugees into the Workforce’; an awareness campaign created as part of a partnership between ASRC and Yarra Trams which provides free tram wraps to community organisations making a positive impact on diversity and inclusion in Melbourne. The ASRC’s WELCOME tram wrap will feature on a wrapped tram that will travel on tram routes 48 and 109 in Melbourne from June to September 2023.
