Building a New Life in Australia — Refugees to Entrepreneurs
In January, we partnered with SSI and Allianz to run an entrepreneurial workshop for recently migrated refugees. We took them through a crash course of entrepreneurship, from starting to scaling their business.
Arbeek (27)
Arbeek is from Iraq — she finished a University degree in Accounting back home, and a Diploma in Management Service & qualifications in hairdressing in Australia. She currently partakes in community service with Settlement Services International (SSI) to help fellow refugees. When she heard about a Cadetship with Allianz, she couldn’t contain her excitement as she loves to share ideas with people.
What have you gotten out of this program so far? Are you enjoying this program?
Yeah, I’m enjoying it. I learnt how people can develop themselves…to give their idea and make something of it. This isn’t just employment or the workplace telling them to do ‘this’ or ‘that’. Rather they’re sharing their own ideas. And it’s a good thing to give us, the ability to build ourselves, because sometimes we have the idea but we can’t show it; we can’t see it; or we don’t know how to convey it.
What are some of the challenges you faced from coming here?
I always say to myself : “there’s nothing too hard…if you like something, you have to challenge yourself. There are people here who have said “the language (English) is my second language” and “we can’t do it”. “We’re too scared to go and interview people”. I say, “that’s fine”, if you do it to there and fail, you attempt again later, but you have to try. If you don’t try at all, you won’t have anything. You’ll be sitting around without a job and that’s important here, to do something for this country.
What do you think the future will look like?
For me, I want to build a good future here. A good job. A good life. At the moment, everything is more like ‘you show us’, but I’d like to improve and develop myself.
Diyar (28)
Diyar is also from Iraq and has spent less than one year in Australia. He’s completed a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications and Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering. After working three years in the mobile networking industry he migrated to Australia in pursuit of a new life. Since he’s been in Australia, he’s applied to multiple jobs, but has yet to find full-time work.
So are you enjoying today?
Yeah, when you run these sessions, we learn a lot more about the Australian workplace and how it’s different from my country. There’s a lot of stuff on tomorrow and Thursday about employers, what they’re looking for, and their attitudes. It’s good to know these skills because they help you understand the workplace, and when you do interviews, it helps a lot.
Have your perceptions/beliefs changed?
Every detail or piece of information we got today in these sessions; everything we wrote on our sticky notes — it’s all very good to know and most of them are real life problems. You need to know how to think, how to find a gap, where’s the problem, and which one is the main problem. Every small detail makes a difference.
What do you think your future will look like?
I’m looking to restart my career. When I first came to Australia, I wanted to find a similar job and didn’t want to work in a different profession. But with each day, with knowing more about the community, more about this country, I think that’s changed now and I’m looking for all available opportunities. Maybe there’s another one not similar to my overseas exerperience but is better for me. I want to grow with more skills, more responsibilities. I think that even if you are doing something you’re not used to, you can acquire the skills, you can learn.
Masoud (27)
Masoud is a electrical engineering student from Sydney University who migrated to Australia two years ago.
Did you face any challenges immigrating here?
Finding a job was the most challenging thing that I’ve faced but other than that, it has been smooth sailing.
How are you enjoying the event so far today?
It’s actually good. The interaction between the attendees are nice; the conversations are going well. And the mentors are amazing! The program can be good for generating ideas and being more creative. Thinking differently. I would definitely recommend my friends to attend such events and workshops. You know, it’s always good to learn more things and there’s always room for improvement and thinking in different ways.
My perceptions on the topics we discussed today have also changed. It’s always good to discuss with people about the differences you can make.
What do you think the future will look like for you and in general?
The future will definitely look…I think more innovative cause people have learned to come up with new ideas and they’re realising that there is a lot to do in the new world and I think many many people are getting involved and contributing in some ways.
Generation Entrepreneur is a non-for-profit that hopes to empower the next generation to change the world. Check us out here https://generationentrepreneur.com.au/ or our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/generationentrepreneur/
