Three graduates of the pilot program (from left) Thuy Cong, Thi Dung Vo, Thuy Le with Thi Dung Vo’s son Tony Dinh.By Rebecca Fraser
FORMER garment maker Loc Nguyen said her job used to be boring and lonely.
The Springvale resident migrated to Australia almost two decades ago but said her English language skills had improved little in the past 20 years because her previous occupation meant she hardly left the house.
But last Friday all this changed when Ms Nguyen qualified as a childcare worker.
Ms Nguyen was one of 12 women who graduated from a 16week program at the Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES) Noble Park office.
Alternative Employment Opportunities for Outworkers in the Clothing Industry a Community Jobs and Training Project is a pilot project aimed at encouraging outworkers who have been adversely affected by the downturn and conditions in the clothing industry to work in the high demand area of childcare.
During their training students attended on the job work placements at local child care centres and worked with the City of Greater Dandenong Family Day Care Program, where they will be supported to register as carers.
Ms Nguyen, 46, a mother of two, said the program had helped her realise her longheld dream of becoming educated.
“I had always wanted to work with children and when I came here (Australia) I wanted to study but had to work so that I could send money home to my family in Vietnam,” she said.
“Now the Government has paid me to do this course and I hope to find work or complete my Certificate Three in children’s services.”
The project was made possible by a partnership with AMES, the Department for Victorian Communities (DVC) and the City of Greater Dandenong.
Another graduate, Thuy Cong of Springvale South, said her English had improved greatly since she began the course.
“Before this program my English had been stuck because I had no one to talk to and I never went out of the house to work,” she said.
Van Ha of Springvale said she also felt very lucky to have been given this opportunity.
“Because garment making is very low paid there was not enough money. Before this I was only making about $100 per week,” she said.
General manager of Community and Settlement Services for AMES, Susan Chou Allender, said the project also aimed to enhance participant’s future prospects of gaining employment.
“Participants did not miss a single day of work or training,” Ms Chou Allender said.
“As a result of their training they now understand that becoming a family day care provider is much more than looking after their own children.
“It is a tremendous thrill to see workers who had been virtually discarded with the downturn of one sector given new life within another.
“We look forward to engineering more of these types of programs,” she said.
