By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
YOUNG migrants from across Casey were given a much-appreciated insight about the world of employment this week, and how they should best apply for work.
The Multicultural Youth Employment Forum, run by the South East Local Learning and Employment Network (SELLEN), was held on Monday at Monash University, Berwick, with many hopeful future employees turning up to glean as many tips as they could.
The forum kicked off with a keynote speech from special guest and Victorian Multicultural Commission Youth Commissioner Safa Almarhoun, which was soon followed by a Q and A style presentation held at one of the main campus lecture theatres.
The attendees put many questions to the panel, with difficulties speaking English, a lack of work experience, volunteer training and visa complications among the key concerns for migrants in the region.
The panel, moderated by Leaders of Tomorrow CEO Aaron Mashano, comprised Victoria Police Sergeant Liam Gardner, Coles National Talent Acquisition manager Christopher Martin, NAB business head of People Shannon Lyndon-Lugg, Bunnings Employee Relations co-ordinator for Victoria Darren Moulder and LINK Employment and Training general manager Terry Breheny.
Speaking after the question and answer session, SELLEN CEO Andrew Simmons said the event was the first Multicultural Youth Employment Forum held by the SELLEN network in the City of Casey, following successful feedback from a similar forum in Dandenong last year.
“When you’re talking about Coles, and NAB and Bunnings, your local stores here, they want their staffing to reflect the local community and I think that that sometimes gets lost from the applicant’s perspective,” he said.
“We’ve also got some great information today on some changes that Coles are making to some of their recruitment strategies in terms of opening up some new positions which is a great opportunity for some of the youth out this way.
“And not just youth but also some of the older migrants as well that are looking for that first step into work. There are a lot of things for us to do to follow up, but I think that the responses were certainly great.”
Mr Simmons also said SELLEN chose employers for the forum that provided the first “foray into employment” for a lot of people, including migrants looking for work in their new country.
“The growth in Casey of migrants is huge, the growth in general is astronomical and certainly there’s a secondary migration that’s happening now from City of Greater Dandenong out into Casey,” he said.
Mitch, from Narre Warren, attended the forum after having had no luck finding work in recent times, and asked the panel about the importance of including a cover letter with a resume when applying for a job.
The 20-year-old said the forum had certainly put him in better stead for when he next applied for work with organisations like Coles and Bunnings.
