Young refugees look to the future
Victoria media release
Friday, 29 October 2010
The future is looking bright for 4 young refugees thanks to Centrelink’s Place Based Service (PBS) Initiative for Young Refugees in Broadmeadows - 1 of 7 Centrelink initiatives trialling more intensive service offers for vulnerable customers.
Centrelink Refugee Youth Services Coordinator, Nurjan Eser, said the program provided advice and support to young refugee job seekers and their families to better engage with their community, health services, training courses and employment.
"The strength-based approach to support not only considers the job seekers’ needs, but also their goals and interests," Nurjan said.
"The PBS initiative has attracted a lot of positive feedback from local youth service providers for its support to disadvantaged youth jobseekers. We are now contributing to the planning and delivery of more integrated services for youth and their families in Broadmeadows."
But Nurjan said the most important thing about the PBS initiative is that it really is making a difference.
"The participants in the PBS initiative for Young Refugees are telling us how much we have helped them," Nurjan said.
"It was really pleasing that 4 of the participants in the program were amongst the recently employed temporary Centrelink Self Service Advisers!
"Centrelink is not only supporting the training and employment pathway of these young job seekers, we also really value their cultural backgrounds and language skills in assisting customers to register and use online services."
New Centrelink recruits, Sally Nori and Khajendra Acharya, said the Self Service Adviser position - created to introduce and support customers to use Centrelink’s online service facilities - had given them the opportunity to improve their computer skills and gain local work experience.
"It will definitely enhance my employment opportunities," Sally said.
"I’m so grateful that someone showed an interest in my future, took the time to guide me and had trust in me that I could do it.
"The smile that you get from customers after you have assisted them is so satisfying - it really makes you want to help more."
Fellow Self Service Adviser, Calvin Yildirin, agrees.
"As a refugee, it can be hard to know how things work and where to get help in a new country," Calvin said.
"But the one-on-one contact through the PBS really helped - the personalised approach, the interest that has been shown in me, the message of staying positive.
"Wow, I never dreamed that I would be on this side of the counter, helping customers in the queue when not long ago I was in that same queue... It has been such a fantastic opportunity for me."
For more information, telephone the relevant Centrelink media contact.