By Casey Neill
Successful settlement for hundreds of migrants and 400 teaching jobs.
These are the likely costs of AMES losing the Federal Government contract to deliver English services to Australia’s newest residents – a role it has performed for about 60 years.
A group of TAFEs led by Melbourne Polytechnic won the tender to deliver the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) in Victoria from July.
AMES spokesman Laurie Nowell said the settlement service, which has locations in Dandenong and Noble Park, would help its clients with the transition.
He was hopeful that the new providers would hire some of the outgoing AMES teachers.
“We have concerns that the holistic service delivery we’ve been pioneering could be lost,” he said.
“That will have an impact on successful settlement.”
Mr Nowell explained that AMES provided not just English classes, but settlement and employment services.
“We think it’s a really good way to operate this service,” he said.
He said it promoted social cohesion and helped migrants to make a start on their new lives.
“We’re really disappointed,” he said.
“We will continue to provide settlement services for refugees.
“We’ve just lost the English language part of the jigsaw.”
Mr Nowell said AMES employed about 1200 people across the state.
Volunteer Wayne Veal has been helping teachers in classrooms at AMES in Dandenong since about 2009.
“It’s been the best job I’ve ever done in my life,” he said.
“I just help in the class.
“It’s just one of the greatest things I’ve ever done.”
Mr Veal said he was shocked to learn that AMES had lost the contract.
“It’s the whole community that’s going to be sort of devastated,” he said.
“We don’t know what’s around the corner.
“Within Dandenong and Noble Park AMES alone about 70 dedicated teachers and admin staff will either lose their job or have to apply for positions with the new provider.”
He said about 1000 students attended AMES in Dandenong and Noble Park “who will have their routine and learning disrupted because of this unnecessary change”.
“The connection between teachers, volunteers and students and the sense of belonging students and their families have developed with AMES will be lost with a new provider.”
Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills Karen Andrews said the Federal Government looked forward to “working with providers to deliver improved learning outcomes for migrants and Australian job seekers with language, literacy and numeracy barriers”.
She said the business model for AMEP had recently been revised “to allow for more flexible and innovative training methods to offer more opportunity for participation as well as encourage continued attendance”.
