The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd

20 February 2013

Director Employment Services Beyond June 2015 GPO Box 9880 CANBERRA ACT 2601 Dear Director Employment Services Building on Success Issue Paper We would firstly like to thank you for opening community feedback and allowing The Australian Coptic Movement Association to submit its perspective from what we as a community based, not for profit organisation have experienced over the last few years. The Australian Coptic Movement Association (ACM) was established to raise awareness of Coptic persecution in Egypt and Sudan as well as other countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Since its incorporation in 2010, the ACM has undertaken a much wider role in becoming a representative body for the Coptic Community in Australia, by undergoing a series of programs, seminars and other initiatives to promote the Coptic Identity and its significant and ongoing contribution to Australian society. One of our core programs is our refugee settlement initiative whereby we aim to support and assist newly arrived refugees and recently settled immigrants of Coptic origin through accommodation, education, community integration and legal services. It has been in our experience through our refugee settlement program that many of these new arrivals possess quite significant education merits and recognition, with many attaining tertiary level qualifications in a multitude of areas and fields. Education is perceived as a matter of high importance in our community and cultural spine. Many parents, in both Egypt, Sudan and countries which have a Coptic diaspora including Australia, sacrifice and contribute tirelessly to the education of their children so that they may attain much more than generic financial success, but acquire personal gratitude in knowing that have made a positive contribution to society. In Australia, the Coptic Community possess a range of skilled individuals in a multitude of occupations and disciplines in Finance and Banking, The Arts, Engineering, Trade and Construction, Medicine and Allied Health, Sports and Nutrition and Government. We pride ourselves on the fact that for the last 50 years, the Coptic Community has contributed to the growth of this nation. Despite the cross roads faced by our community with respect to English as a second language, the inability to properly attain experience in the respective field and the failure by institutions to recognise the qualifications attained
The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd | ABN: 17 147 783 186 PO Box 30, ST CLAIR NSW 2759 P: 0418 331 213 | E: info@auscma.com | W: www.auscma.com The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd is a registered not-for-profit organisation with full tax concessions

The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd

In reputable universities and colleges overseas, we have overcome the tribulations faced in the employment sphere to build ourselves, our community and this nation we have adopted as our home. As mentioned above, the three core limitations in entering the workforce which individuals whom our organisation assists are: 1. Intermediate English Skills. 2. Difficulty in attaining work experience. 3. Failure to recognise the qualifications possessed by individuals despite attaining credentials of a higher magnitude than that advertised. Our organisation wishes that the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to recognise these barriers and work with community groups such as ours in being able to develop and train individuals to be able to effectively place them in the employment market, so they too, in the words of the Honorable Kate Ellis MP, contribute to the economy, pay taxes which boost services and experience the dignity and stability that a paying job provides. Many of the individuals we have spoken to whom have recently arrived to Australia escaping the persecution and suffering of their native homeland are motivated to meet whatever is required to continue working in their respective field in their newly adopted country for which they are proud to contribute to. The issue faced however are the resources and lack of support in meeting the above three mentioned limitations. For example, a recent case we handled involved a young woman who acquired a Bachelor of Commerce at Cairo University with a major in Accounting, a field which she sought to pursue. Her English skills were poor and she had no local experience. We assisted her by registering the young woman to English as a second language class, for which we incurred the costs on her behalf. We also worked tirelessly to find her a local Accountant who was willing to provide practical experience to her so that she may be prepared to enter the workforce with a proper foundation of knowledge and skillsets and be competitive in seeking employment. Unfortunately, no firm or accounting practitioner possessed the resources to be able to assist and this is understandable. For this young woman to be able to comfortably attain the practical experience required in this skilled field, she will require a mentor who can at first closely supervise her until she develops a proper foundation to work unsupervised. The time, resources and ultimate sacrifice by a mentor in the Accounting field will prevent them from properly continuing their business efficiently. We initially sought a community member who fits these criteria so that this young woman can feel some minimum level of comfort to attain the basic skillsets at first before she integrates into a new environment. We cannot however, request someone to sacrifice their own duties and responsibilities to their business, clients and employees, for the sake of one individual. Its in our view that if an initiative funded by government and administered by organisations such as ours, would provide funding to trainers for their own consumption in resources, then the barrier of lack of experience would be efficiently overcome. This is only one example, but a familiar sounding one, of the challenges faced by niche community groups such as the Copts in being able to undergo employment in Australia.
The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd | ABN: 17 147 783 186 PO Box 30, ST CLAIR NSW 2759 P: 0418 331 213 | E: info@auscma.com | W: www.auscma.com The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd is a registered not-for-profit organisation with full tax concessions

The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd

We ask that the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations provide assistance, resources and funding via grants to initiatives run by organisations such as The Australian Coptic Movement Association to work hand in hand with the government and government organisations such as Job Services Australia. We greatly appreciated your time in reading our submission and thank the Australian Government for noting the issue. Sincerely,

Anthony Hanna For and behalf of The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd

c.c Coptic Orthodox Church, Diocese of Sydney and its Affiliated Regions c.c The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd Members and Subscribers c.c The Coptic Orthodox Publication and Translation Service c.c El-Manara Magazine

The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd | ABN: 17 147 783 186 PO Box 30, ST CLAIR NSW 2759 P: 0418 331 213 | E: info@auscma.com | W: www.auscma.com The Australian Coptic Movement Association Ltd is a registered not-for-profit organisation with full tax concessions