Social Ventures Australia (SVA) is delighted to be working with J.P. Morgan and CareerSeekers to provide support to professionally qualified humanitarian entrants to enter the skilled workforce in Australia.

With high levels of humanitarian entrants struggling to find roles that reflect the qualifications they achieved in their home countries, many resort to working in unskilled jobs with little opportunity to move into their qualified profession.

With the support of J.P. Morgan, CareerSeekers’ Skilled Humanitarian Entrant Workforce Transition Program will collaborate with migrant settlement service agencies, offering targeted job placement for skilled humanitarian entrants who have settled in Australia.

The CareerSeekers program has been developed from learnings and experience gained from the renowned CareerTrackers program which SVA was involved in supporting since 2010. Under the CareerSeekers program, mid-career professionals are supported through a pre-employment training program that enables participants to obtain the local experience they require to complement their pre-existing skills and experience. Program participants undertake internships with leading organisations, helping them to identify appropriate transition paths into longer-term career opportunities.

SVA will be supporting CareerSeekers to refine this program model, and draw upon SVA’s leading expertise in work readiness and employment support for disadvantaged jobseekers in Australia.

SVA CEO, Rob Koczkar commented: ‘A lack of local references and experience in the Australian market can severely impact a candidate’s ability to secure work that appropriately reflects their skill level. This program is particularly exciting as it matches skilled labour with private sector employment opportunities, and has the potential to transform the lives of participants who have settled in Australia.’

‘We have supported CareerTrackers for six years now and are delighted to be extending our partnership with such a successful program. The program aims to find each participant a full-time job that is appropriate for their professional background, and with J.P. Morgan’s support we are confident that this will be highly impactful.’      

The program will prepare participants for long-term employment in Australia, and over 30 organisations will offer 12 week paid internships to over 100 participants throughout 2017, providing them with the pre-employment training they require to commence their career in Australia.

CareerSeekers Founder & CEO, Michael Combs said:

‘Humanitarian entrants can be vulnerable when it comes to labour market integration. Securing meaningful employment is an important part to help them settle into their new lives.’

‘By providing these highly skilled migrants with an internship, it affords them an opportunity to adjust to the Australian workplace and for the employer to assess the intern’s ability with the objective of ultimately finding a quality, suitable role.’

Rob Priestley, Chief Executive Officer, J.P. Morgan Australia and New Zealand, said: ‘Often when humanitarian entrants have settled in a new country such as Australia, it can be difficult to find quality employment reflecting the skills and qualifications they achieved in their home countries.’

‘Through this program, which matches skilled labour with private sector employment opportunities, J.P. Morgan is committed to improving the lives of those in our community that have started to adapt to a new way of life, and who have the right to work but need guidance on developing their careers in Australia.’

CareerSeekers completed a pilot program in November 2016 which is supporting 20 highly qualified humanitarian arrivals to enter the Australian workforce following their support of 50 program participants throughout 2016. The program will be expanded throughout 2017 to provide more effective support to humanitarian arrivals as they settle in Australia, restoring dignity to people whose lives have been interrupted, increased wages and family income, and provide employers with high skilled workers with an unparalleled commitment.