Latest news with #CommunityCorporate
SBS Australia
02-05-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
After 100 applications, Behz finally landed his dream job – here's how
Behzad Pourdarab known to friends as 'Behz' is proudly celebrating a career milestone. This month marks two years in his dream role, with a multi-national company. "I feel proud of myself despite the challenges and here I am and I am truly happy. Now I have enough income to support myself in this society on my own and not leaning on my family or friends to survive." It's a big turnaround for the 33-year-old who works as a functional designer in Information and Communication technology or ICT. "I've applied for almost a hundred jobs and when you do not hear back, you just lose your confidence, you are close to breakdown. That was how I felt when I initially started to look for an IT role. " Sadly, it's an all-too-common story. The Australian Institute of Family Studies found that only one quarter of refugees find employment within the first two years. And it's a statistic that employment service founder Carmen Garcia aims to change. "The biggest reason they don't get an interview is they don't have local experience. What we are trying to prove is that the experience they bring from overseas in a globalised world absolutely has value to companies here in Australia." Breaking down barriers is the focus of Carmen Garcia's social enterprise Community Corporate, which is based in Adelaide. "Last financial year, Community Corporate helped over 1600 people all across Australia. 90% of them came from a refugee or migrant background. I think the key to our success is we have an employer-led model. We listen to our employers, we understand what challenges they face. " With state government backing, Community Corporate is expanding its reach this year with a new service. Carmen Garcia explains. "We can create a one-stop shop to connect employers looking for talent and skilled migrants that have never known where to get started. This skilled migrant job support centre is really targeting those professionals in the ICT industry, engineering, building and construction where we've got massive projects not only in South Australia but nationally." Among employers at its recent opening, Mark Smith, Chief Operating Officer of OTR or On the Run, a 900-outlet retail network. "We are a national business and we've got a large expansion program underway. Our commitment this year is to try and land at least 500 placements from community corporate into the workforce. Our vision is to become Australia's number one convenience retailer. I would love for community corporate to continue to be by our side." Like Mark Smith, many Australian employers are keen to do the right thing– but Carmen Garcia says barriers persist. "The prevalence of discrimination and unconscious bias, particularly in the workplace is unfortunately still alive and well. One of the challenges for refugee and migrant employment is that people consider it a charity and we're not asking for charity, we're asking for that chance." Carmen Garcia knows about the struggles new arrivals face "I was born here in Adelaide and raised by a single mum from the Philippines. And she's definitely influenced me being skilled as a lawyer but having to start again in entry level jobs and not having her overseas qualifications recognised. It reminds me how important work is for that sense of belonging and freedom and a sense of human dignity." It's one reason Carmen Garcia helps others get started in Australia, especially asylum seekers like Behz. He risked his life to get here from Iran and cross the sea from Indonesia. "Imagine 169 people on a small wooden boat with newborn babies. Can you imagine how devastating those moments were? When we had no hope and until today, after 12 years still I have nightmares being on a boat in the middle of the ocean." Behz is thankful for the helping hand that changed his life forever. "For someone who didn't have a hope or was suffering who didn't know what to do and pick me up from that route and put me on a track of success. I am grateful to Carmen and her team for the rest of my life and I do whatever I can to pay back their favour."
SBS Australia
02-05-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
After 100 applications, Behz finally landed his dream job. Here's how
Behzad 'Behz' Pourdarab is celebrating a career milestone that he never believed possible. This month marks two years since he landed his dream job. "I feel proud of myself. Despite many challenges. I am truly happy," said Pourdarab, 33. He works as a functional designer in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for a large multinational company. "Now I have enough income to support myself on my own without leaning on my family or friends to survive," he said. It's a big turnaround for Pourdarab, who holds Australian technology qualifications and a construction diploma from Tehran. He arrived in 2013 as an asylum seeker from Iran. "I travelled here from Indonesia in a small wooden boat with 169 people on board, including newborn babies. Can you imagine how devastating that was? At times, we had no hope," Pourdarab said. "And until today, after 12 years, I still have nightmares about being on a boat in the middle of the ocean." After a stint in detention, Pourdarab moved to Adelaide and found work in food delivery and taught swimming classes while reskilling. "I applied for almost 100 jobs and when you do not hear back, you lose your confidence and you question your ability," he said. "You can feel close to a breakdown when trying to look for a skilled role with no success." Pourdarab is not alone. The Australian Institute of Family Studies found only one quarter of refugees secure employment within the first two years. What changed Pourdarab's life was meeting Carmen Garcia, the founder of an Adelaide-based employment service, Community Corporate. It connected him with an employer. "As someone who didn't have a hope and was suffering and didn't know what to do, she [Carmen] picked me up and put me on a track to success," he said. Garcia said: "Last financial year, Community Corporate supported more than 1,600 people across Australia. "And 91 per cent of those were from migrant or refugee backgrounds. "The key to our success is we have an employer-led model. We listen to our employers, we understand what challenges they face." Building on more than a decade of success, Garcia recently opened a new Skilled Migrant Job Support Centre to ramp up recruitment for in-demand sectors across the country. With state government backing, Garcia aims to assist at least 120 skilled migrants in the first year, filling gaps for workers in sectors like ICT, engineering and health services. "We see so many [skilled migrants] who have given up on any chance of financial independence," Garcia said. "So this service is a one-stop shop that connects employers looking for talent and skilled migrants that have never known where to get started." The centre's launch has encouraged skilled migrants like Kumar Singaraj, an ICT professional from India with over 19 years of experience. "It was great to hear you [Carmen] speak up for us skilled migrants," he said. "You said the things we all want to say: getting a skilled visa is not easy, and not having local experience is the number one reason employers say we don't win the jobs." Among employers partnering with Community Corporate is a 900-outlet strong retail convenience chain On The Run (OTR). OTR CEO Mark Smith said: "Our commitment this year is to try and land at least 500 placements from Community Corporate into the workforce. "Since 2019, we have taken on more than 230 people through our partnership with Community Corporate. The retention rate of 83 per cent last year is far higher than the usual application and interview process," he said. "Our vision is to become Australia's number one convenience retailer so this year, we would like to hire many more candidates from Community Corporate." Like OTR, many Australian employers are keen to "do the right thing" but Garcia said significant barriers persist. "The prevalence of discrimination and unconscious bias, particularly in the workplace, is unfortunately still alive and well," she said. Garcia said a lack of local experience remains the top reason skilled migrants do not get job interviews. "We want to prove that experience from overseas absolutely adds value to companies in Australia," she said. "Behz Pourdarab is typical of our many success stories. He is so motivated, resilient, and has a huge curiosity to learn. "With training and contacts, many candidates like Behz go on to achieve their goals." Pourdarab is thankful for the helping hand that has turned his life around. "As someone who didn't have a hope and was suffering they picked me up and put me on the track to success," he said. "Community Corporate trained me and that gave me confidence, which helped me to secure my first ICT role. "Asylum seekers and refugees are not asking for a favour, just a chance," he said.
