In 2018, TTO’s Refugee Employment Pathways task force established a pilot employment program for former refugees in conjunction with the owners of a local berry farm, Catholic Care, and CVGT and this project was reviewed in July 2019. The Reviewers have recommended the development of a comprehensive employment strategy for humanitarian entrants to Tasmania.
Click on this link to download a PDF version of the review report
On Tuesday, 13 February 2018 the Mayor of Launceston, Alderman Albert van Zetten, will launch an innovative community-based program to secure safe and fair employment for recent arrivals for a refugee background now living in Launceston. The launch will be held at the Northern Integrated Care Service (NICS) building, Franklin Street, Launceston and the event will commence at 5:30 pm and last for approximately one hour.
This program will be known as Refugee Employment Pathways.
In this first instance, Refugee Employment Pathways will focus on the development of appropriate employment pathways for 45 Afghan Hazara men who have expressed a strong interest in participating in this program and who want to secure long-term employment in the region. Most of these men come for a rural background and many of them would like to work on the land.
Refugee Employment Pathways has been launched because TTO’s research indicates that existing employment programs have not been able to connect these Hazara men with the needs of regional employers. Up to now, most employment opportunities provide part-time seasonal work, which is insufficient to provide sustainable economic integration for the Hazara community.
This program will assess the participant’s skills and aspirations for long-term employment and identify the training needed to help the participants to become job-ready. It will also identify the types of employment and employers that need to be targeted for further research.
The second step will be to develop partnerships with employers in the region who would be willing to explore long-term employment solutions and who would support and encourage the social and economic integration of Hazara families in this region.
Refugee Employment Pathways is a low-key, intentional, focused, non-political program. It depends on local volunteers and it will support relevant existing settlement and employment programs wherever possible.
Invitations for the launch of Refugee Employment Pathways have been sent to all local members of parliament, regional councillors, industry representatives, refugee settlement service providers, and employment service providers. Members of TTO and leaders from the Afghan Hazara community in Launceston will also be in attendance.
Jeff McKinnon, President, The Tasmania Opportunity:
M: 0403 310 501
E: Refugee.Employment.Pathways@gmail.com
Australian Border Force reports that currently there are nearly 30,000 asylum seekers living in the community in Australia on Bridging Visas and many of these people have applied for Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) or Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEVs). If successful, TPV holders could stay in Australia for up to three years and SHEV holders could remain for up to five years or longer if they could find employment in regional Australia.
In June 2016 we presented the Tasmanian Government with our proposal for a trial supported settlement of selected communities of SHEV holders in rural regions in Tasmania with the aim of encouraging similar projects across the State once the trial has been introduced successfully and evaluated.
Our proposal (Seizing the Moment) suggests the parameters for such a trial and argues for its introduction. It is based on the evidence of other Australian regional communities that have already demonstrated the economic benefits of the supported settlement of asylum seekers.
In the last three months, we have discussed this idea with a number of regional Municipal Councils that have registered as Refugee Welcome Zones and now we have released our proposal for consideration by all Councils and rural communities.
seizing-the-moment-november-2016
If you would like to comment on this report, or any other aspect of TTO’s activities, please complete the contact form shown below and we will respond as soon as possible.
Join us in standing up for all refugees by signing the Refugee Week Declaration:
I welcome refugees to Australia and call for a more humane and sustainable approach to both the protection and settlement of people seeking asylum. Australia’s current policies come at a great cost, both human and financial, and I know we can do better than this.
UNHCR’s latest Global Trends report highlights that at the end of 2015, global displacement reached a record high of 65.3 million people who have been forced to leave their homes, an increase of 4.8 million people since last year. Each year, UNHCR releases statistics on the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide, including refugees, internally displaced people, people seeking asylum and stateless people.
Global displacement reaches record high
There are now 21.3 million refugees worldwide, an increase in 1.7 million from 2014. This includes 16.1 million under UNHCR’s mandate and 5.2 million Palestinian refugees registered under UNWRA. Top countries of origin include:
Collectively, people fleeing these three countries account for more than half of the world’s refugees under UNHCR’s mandate.
Distressingly, children made up an astonishing 51 per cent of the world’s refugees in 2015.
One in every 113 people globally is now either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refuge. To put this number in perspective, the number of people forcibly displaced is greater than the populations of Australia and New Zealand and Canada combined.
Despite a larger number of people being now displaced than following World War 2, the number constitutes just 0.3% of the global population.
Refugee Council of Australia post, 20 June 2016: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/
TTO has just completed a working draft of a new document entitled Seizing the Moment. This is a proposal to trial the supported settlement of selected communities of Safe Haven Enterprise Visa holders in rural regions in Tasmania.
We are in the process of discussing this proposition with Municipal Councils who have resolved to become Refugee Welcome Zones and other interested parties.
As soon as these consultations have been completed, we plan to release this proposal for public discussion.
Our report contains a summary of current research into successful Australian refugee resettlement programs. It also contains practical guidelines to help regional communities produce sustainable social and economic benefits for both the region and the newcomers.