Supporting Migrant Women into Employment
05 Apr, 2023
If you can dream it, you can do it
In December 2022, Pix Jonasson, Career Development and Programs Consultant for Mas National, reached out to City of Ryde, initially via phone, to discuss the benefits that the Supporting Migrant Women into Employment (SMWE) Program could bring to local Community Groups. She soon connected with Jennie Dang, Community Development Officer – Cultural Diversity, Community Services.
Jennie then later connected Pix with Jian Hua and Jisun (Sunny) Kim, Multicultural Project Workers from Relationships Australia NSW (RANSW) Community Builders team. RANSW was going to run an Employment Pathway for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Women project commencing in mid-February 2023. The sessions incorporated guest speakers, mentoring and a career expo. Topics included workplace dress, workplace culture, aptitude tests and application of all this knowledge. This was a perfect fit with the Mas National SMWE program for CALD women.
Subsequent planning meetings ensued a collaborative 7 week project, jointly delivered by Mas National, Dress for Success, Asian Women at Work Inc and Rosenfeld Kant & Co. was undertaken in February and March. RA managed the program including set up, sourcing venue, marketing, securing attendees and providing catering each week.
Sessions included the following topics:
- Week 1: Mindset and Confidence (Mas National)
- Week 2: Mentoring with Mentors (RANSW)
- Week 3: Resume and Cover Letter Writing / Career Aptitude Tests (Mas National)
- Week 4: Interview Skills (Mas National)
- Week 5: Transition to work after a long absence (MCC)
- Week 6: Workplace Rights (Asian Women at Work Inc.) & Dress Code (Dress for Success)
- Week 7: Start Your Own Business (Rosenfeld Kant & Co) / Creating a LinkedIn profile (Mas National)
After seven weeks of hard work, all women completed the Employment Pathway to CALD Women program with each of the ladies being presented with a Certificate of Completion on the final week. All of the women reported feeling much more confident and informed to make decisions to support their future employment aspirations and were in a much more positive mindset than they were at the commencement of the program.
Several participants have commenced job hunting, with some becoming successful with a number of interview offers.
We would like to congratulate Mentor Mingxian (Judy) Zhang who has secured a job as a School Counsellor.
Click here to learn more about our Mas Transition Programs designed to support migrant women into employment.