After seven years in Gladstone, Egyptian migrant Rania Elgendy finally feels she is finding herself and her confidence again after participating in Integreat Queensland’s Get Work Ready program.
“Before I came to Australia with my family in 2015, I was degree qualified and been working for 10 years as a Document and Quality Control Specialist for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) projects in Egypt,” Rania said.
“However, despite having those qualifications, it was very difficult to find work in Gladstone even though there were opportunities within the work I was experienced in.
“It can be challenging for an employer to hire someone especially a migrant woman that not only looks different, but where English is not her first language, and doesn’t have any experience working in Australia.”
Rania said she understood the difficulties, so she started to create friends, introduce herself to her neighbours, establish networks, and connect with organisations throughout the region.
“To be honest I was disappointed at first but behind that disappointment I realised I wanted to keep pushing forward and get involved by volunteering and creating good relationships because I believed if I was to do so, everything will come at the right time,” she said.
Through the friends she had made, Rania was eventually introduced to Integreat Queensland who support people from different countries and backgrounds to confidently settle in and build relationships with local people.
“I did many courses online until I found Integreat Queensland who really helped me with not only understanding Australia and its people, but by offering some amazing programs which was not only a great opportunity, but also allowed me to get back to myself again.”
Since then, Rania has taken part in Integreat Queensland’s 12-week Get Work Ready program which allows people from different cultures like herself to improve their workplace English, resume and cover letter writing, interviewing skills, networking, and other tools and skills to assist them with getting their dream job including a 12-week work placement, in conjunction with the Gladstone Engineering Alliance (GEA), related to their desired career at businesses based in Gladstone.
“I’ve been placed with Prizm Engineering, an engineering consultancy company based in Gladstone,” Rania said.
“It’s been fantastic and I’m really enjoying working with their (Prizm Engineering) team as it feels like one big family. My goal from this opportunity is to learn how the Australian workplace operates and to ultimately find work but most importantly, to gain my confidence back and find myself again.”
This round of Integreat Queensland’s Get Work Ready program started last week but there are still spots available. For more information or to register, please email admin@integreatqld.org.au or call (07) 4903 1931.
