It is well known migrant women often struggle to find work in Australia. A lack of language skills, Australian experience and cross-cultural misunderstandings can provide barriers however, for Indian born Sivapriya Kannan, finding work wasn’t the problem, it was moving around Australia and Queensland following her husband’s work that made it difficult to build her career.
“I have been in Australia for 14 years,” Sivapriya said. “I came to Australia with my husband and since then, I have been trying to be independent and find my career of choice.”
Sivapriya said her chosen career is to be an accountant and while she was doing part time work at Woolworths as a cashier, she was also completing a Cert III & IV in Financial Services and looking for work as any entry level.
“Due to my husband’s career growth, we have to move and often it’s short stays,” she said. “We moved from Brisbane to Moranbah and then to Gladstone and Perth and even a year India. Due to this I’ve had to change my career goals frequently.
“Finally, we moved back to Gladstone which is where I decided to put a hold on finding a career until my children became independent so while in that process, I volunteered at schools to assist students with their numeracy and literacy skills.”
In 2019, Sivapriya became aware of Integreat Queensland and the services the association provides to migrant women. She started taking part in several programs and in 2022, Sivapriya took part in the Get Work Ready program. Get Work Ready is a 6-month program designed to support skilled migrant women to gain the skills, experience, and the confidence they need, to gain employment in their chosen field.
“I saw the Get Work Ready program as a great opportunity and participated in every activity Integreat Queensland provided,” she said.
“After a completed the courses, I was placed with the Gladstone Area Promotion and Development Ltd (GAPDL) who work within the tourism industry and placed in their accounts department.
“The experience was amazing, and it really helped me understand and work in a real work environment and to find my strengths. They have a great team at the GAPDL and I felt really privileged to be able to learn with them and work with their people.”
Integreat Queensland’s Get Work Ready program is a 12-week job ready program where participants study workplace English, resume and cover letter writing, effective use of job search platforms, interview skills, and other useful topics related to employment. Participants then undertake a 12-week work placement in a job related to their career interests.
If you would like to take part in the next Get Work Ready program call (07) 4903 1931 or email admin@integreatqld.org.au
The Get Work Ready program is delivered by Integreat Queensland and funded by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Women’s Leadership and Development Program.
Picture: Sivapriya (left) and Anna taking part in Integreat Queensland’s Get Work Ready program.
