Assisting new migrants towards inclusive communities
A major focus at the Centre for Participation is how we can work with and support our migrant, refugee and asylum-seeker communities from many nations. This approach has culminated in us establishing a designated Migrant Support Worker role. We’ll continue to work closely with partner organisations to explore how we can support migrants to ‘arrive, survive and thrive’.
Some of our key initiatives include:
- Licencing the Wimmera – tailoring our program to support new migrants to obtain their driver’s licence
- English language classes – introducing more options to practise conversational and extension English
- Computers and digital literacy courses – equipping people with hands-on skills to encourage digital participation
- Engagement workshops – working with migrant women to understand their work and education aspirations, and how we can support them to achieve their goals
- Australian Flower Investment Company – opportunities for refugees with low-level English to develop skills working on the farm
- Horsham Hospitality Workforce Pathways Program – provides for 20 women to increase their confidence in English, customer service and hospitality skills, and to become work ready. Volunteers support learning and social inclusion, while hospitality partners provide valuable work experience
- T-Bags – a new social enterprise partnership offering skill development and social inclusion opportunities for migrants
- Harmony van – to support many initiatives to build skills in customer service and hospitality
- Multicultural festivals – exploring opportunities to bring together different migrant groups for a larger festival
- Migrant professional network – a new initiative launching to support migrants to find work and navigate employment in Australia
- Market enterprises/co-op – working towards opportunities for people to sell their goods and produce.
