Apprenticeships are an ideal way to earn, learn and build a life in a new country. Structured training is combined with practical work experience with an employer. An apprenticeship usually takes between two and four years to complete and leads to nationally accredited qualifications in many professions. Meredith Stuebe from Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre says her organisation is a good place to start looking for an apprenticeship.
Meredith Stuebe says that case workers from Western Sydney MRC are willing to help young migrants with writing a CV but she acknowledges that a lack of English can slow down the process of finding employment and an apprenticeship.
Australia's largest training provider is TAFE which stands for Technical and Further Education. Craig Robertson is the Chief Executive Officer of TAFE Directors Australia. He says young migrants looking for an apprenticeship should contact their local TAFE careers advice officer and discuss what they would like to do. The careers advisor will then try to match them up with employers looking for apprentices. Craig Robertson says TAFE organisations also help new arrivals with improving their language skills.
Australia’s TAFE network operates more than 1000 campuses across metropolitan, regional and remote locations. TAFE institutions are known as either colleges or institutes, depending on the state or territory. Craig Robertson says many careers started at TAFE.
And best of all, for most new arrivals, TAFE courses are free, says Craig Robertson.
The National Apprentice Employment Network is a private organisation offering apprenticeships. Lauren Tiltman is NAEN’s National Executive Officer. She explains what her organisation has to offer.
Lauren Tiltman says the member companies of her organisation focus on delivering entry level training for many industries.
Lauren Tiltman says the members of the National Apprentice Employment Network are happy to give young migrants and new arrivals a helping hand in getting job qualifications and finding work.
Lauren Tiltman says that there are vacancies for apprentices in many Australian industries and jobs are often advertised on social media or online job sites. However Meredith Stuebe from Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre is not so optimistic about the job prospects of young migrants. She thinks that the government could do more to help new arrivals into work and apprenticeships.
