Reconnecting the Wimmera

In Australia, four out of five skilled migrants don’t have their overseas qualifications recognised for employment and have little choice but to resort to entry level and unskilled work.

Dilhani Edrisinghe was working as a Registered Nurse in Sri Lanka for six years but after migrating to Australia in 2017 she, like many of the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community, found her previous education and experience weren’t recognised.

Fortunately, Dilhani was introduced to the Reconnect program at Federation TAFE’s Wimmera Campus and started working with Reconnect Pathways Officer, Kim Boulton to realise her dreams of being a nurse in Australia.

The Reconnect program is designed to support Victorians experiencing disadvantage to overcome barriers preventing them from education, training and employment as well as provide support into further study or employment pathways.

Support services including counselling and mentoring, housing and accommodation services referral, mental health support referral, foundation skills like literacy and numeracy, employability skills, careers information, planning and advice.

As a Reconnect Pathways Officer Kim undertakes outreach and engagement activities to locate, engage and attract disengaged people experiencing disadvantage back into a learning environment.

“A lot of my Reconnect clients come to me by word of mouth through my networking with organisations like the Wimmera Development Association, Job Seekers Network, Neighbourhood Houses in the region, Victoria Jobs Advocates, Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council and AMES.”

When Kim meets a client, she finds out about their circumstances, determines their goals in joining Reconnect, and how the challenges they're experiencing may have an impact on their ability to achieve such goals.

“If we've got a good understanding of things like their background, their support network, and their community involvement, we can then start working together to identify what would be a good fit for them and work through that process of applying for a course, enrolling and settling in.”

For the CALD community the challenges are often around language, distance from family, and navigating the Australian training system regarding requirements and guidelines. For clients that aren’t from the CALD community the barriers might be age, mental health, the justice system, or alcohol and other drugs.

Typically, Kim will work with a client for about 12 months, but it depends on the individual circumstances.

“Sometimes we need to support them a bit longer because we want to make sure that they're settled into what they're doing. We have a six month follow up to make sure they're really settled or offer any further referrals if needed.”

Kim is almost at the end of the Reconnect journey with Dilhani, “Dilhani was one of my first clients. She has a young child how to secure a childcare place so she could get a job was a big challenge. With her nursing background, once we sorted out the childcare, she secured casual work at Grampians Health.”

“Dilhani was also keen to enrol in the Bachelor of Nursing, so I supported her in navigating the application and enrolment requirements. Since then, I’ve occasionally acted as an advocate on her behalf and helped with things like her Australian passport application when she renewed citizenship, just things she identified she needed help with as she doesn't have family locally and doesn't have a big support group.”

Dilhani is effusive about working with Kim and Reconnect, “If I did not meet Kim, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have achieved so far. When I met her, I was not working because I could not find any childcare for my daughter. Kim tried to offer every single solution to find childcare and helped me to get a job as a healthcare worker."

“She was there for me more than I expected, providing me all the information, assisting me completing applications, guiding me on how to face interviews and checking with interviewers regarding the job. It was a huge support. I applied for nursing with assistance from Kim. Those are only a few of the things she helped me with. She did an amazing job. Even after I started studying, I had her help for many things. It was easy to work with her. She has an amazing skill to help others.”

Kim finds her work fulfilling, “That interaction with clients is very rewarding, and when they have their successes it's good to celebrate with them. There have been some great success stories in my time working in Reconnect.”

Since Federation TAFE received Reconnect funding in mid-2016, it has supported 85 participants in the Wimmera region with Kim personally supporting 32 clients since starting in mid 2021. Federation TAFE also run the Reconnect program in Ballarat.