MS TIERNEY (Western Victoria—Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education) (12:25): I am really pleased to share with the chamber the critical work that the Adult Multicultural Education Services is doing to ensure our culturally and linguistically diverse Victorians do not fall through the cracks during the pandemic. Victoria has a proud history of multiculturalism, and over 60 years AMES Australia has been there, helping recently arrived migrants to settle in Victoria and supporting CALD communities to improve their language and literacy skills. AMES are uniquely Victorian, and we should be very proud of the work that they do.
I had the opportunity to recently visit AMES to learn more about how they have adapted online to continue providing multicultural communities with the critical training that leads to jobs. One example of this is the 3 Steps to Employment program. 3 Steps to Employment is designed for unemployed adult learners from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Learners engage in sessions that cover resume preparation, interview preparation and practice, and creating career plans to identify goals, skills and gaps. The program is facilitated by a teacher and supported with a career pathways counsellor. The program takes advantage of AMES’s strength in working with learners who are also acquiring English language and literacy skills.
I was really pleased to hear directly from students such as Roy about what the program meant for them. Roy is a Sri Lankan migrant and a mature age jobseeker who is looking for a career change. Roy shared with me how this program has given him the skills and confidence to start job searching. Thank you to the wonderful staff at AMES for all they do, especially during this pandemic.