Empowering clients of the Asylum Seekers Centre with life-long employability skills

For many, finding paid employment is essential to their financial survival – but limited personal and professional networks, little understanding of Australian recruitment processes and a lack of access to the hidden job market leave many people unsure how and where to look for work.  

At UTS Careers, consultants Claudia Cowell and Helena Asher-Chiang are committed to helping clients of the Sydney-based Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) to overcome these challenges.  

Using their five days of social justice leave, a university-wide initiative that supports staff to pursue volunteering opportunities that deliver positive community impact, they approached the ASC with a proposal to create and deliver a careers program for the organisation’s clients and staff. 

“We approached the ASC saying, ‘We’d like to apply for these volunteer roles, and if you’d like to have us, in addition, we have this Social Impact Grant, which we envisage that [we would use to] work with you and understand your clients’ needs’,” Cowell says.  

A snapshot of Australian workplace culture 

ASC welcomed the project proposal, working with the pair to sketch out a series of online job application and workplace culture workshops and training sessions for ASC clients and volunteers.  

These sessions introduced participants to the administrative and cultural norms of applying for and securing work in Australia, from writing resumes and cover letters to understanding the differences between Australian workplaces and what they might be used to in their home country.  

“We talked a little bit about more flat workplace cultures instead of really hierarchical cultures, we talked about how to speak to your manger [and] that asking questions is okay, we talked about reflecting on [your existing skills and strengths and how you can apply them in a new] workplace,” Cowell says.  

The UTS Careers team also produced an animated video called ‘How to find work in your community or through people that you know’, which was developed in collaboration with ASC staff and clients and translated into Arabic, Tamil and Bengali.  

The video, which drew on the animation and sound production expertise of UTS students and translation and voiceover work by ASC clients, introduces viewers to the ‘hidden job market’ and provides essential insights to help people leverage employment opportunities that they otherwise may not see.   

“Finding jobs through the hidden job market, which we often say is about 80 per cent of the jobs out there, [is about] using your networks rather than going through online job boards,” says Cowell.  

“We wanted our clients to understand that concept that yes, they might not have a big network in Australia yet but that making connections in the community is a really, really good strategy.”  

Building on a university-wide commitment to social change 

The response to both the workshops and the videos have been highly positive – post-workshop surveys showed that the majority of job seekers would strongly recommend the workshops to friends and that staff felt more confident in their abilities to help ASC clients who were looking for work.  

“Helena and Claudia have been really forthcoming and generous with their ideas, expertise and skills, and they've also been really adaptable in learning our ways of working with people seeking asylum,” says Alex Peters, Employment Services Manager at the ASC.  

“They’ve [been] really receptive to learning and advice and seem genuinely interested in developing how they support our clients.” 

The project offered meaningful value for ASC clients and volunteers and was also an essential reminder for Cowell and Ascher-Chiang of how their professional skills could benefit marginalised people and communities.   

Cowell is already planning to use her next allocation of social justice leave to continue her work at the ASC. 

“I think it’s a significant way to give back to the community and I think it’s amazing that UTS supports staff to be part of these initiatives,” she says.    

The problem 

Many people seeking asylum in Australia face significant barriers to finding paid work, including a lack of personal and professional networks, little understanding of Australian recruitment processes and a lack of access to the hidden job market.   

The response 

UTS Careers consultants Claudia Cowell and Helena Asher-Chiang produced a suite of employment resources for Sydney’s Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC). These included career education workshops for asylum seekers and ASC volunteers and an animated video, translated into three languages, that introduced viewers to the job search process in Australia. 

What helped accomplish this? 

A strong partnership between UTS Careers and the ASC was essential to the success of this project. The Social Impact Grant and supplementary funding from UTS Careers supported the production of the job search video, which otherwise could not have been made.  

What has changed as a result? 

ASC clients now have a better understanding of Australian job search processes. In comparison, UTS Careers staff have gained a better experience of how their skill sets can contribute to better outcomes for marginalised communities.