We all know and regularly acknowledge how difficult it is to find your footing in Australia as a migrant. Some of the key barriers for skilled migrants gaining access to suitable work are, among others, lack of local experience, employer’s unconscious bias, and communication challenges. To make matters worse, without industry knowledge, skilled migrants find it hard to reach out to the right people and are consistently faced with rejections impacting their confidence and mental health.
To address these issues, with the generous sponsorship of AECOM and John Holland, we were able to bring together nearly 30-40 skilled migrants to Ozwater ’24 for morning tea where they had a chance to hear Wayne Duignan (John Holland) talk about some of the programs in place supporting skilled migrants. They also got to hear from senior water industry executives like Dr Frédéric Blin (AECOM) and Angela Kelly (AECOM) of their personal journeys through migration.
After a brief networking session, the Australian Water Association committee members accompanied attendees and introduced them to a number of exhibitors to help them make connections and to gain a better understanding of the industry. I would like to extend a personal thanks to all exhibitors who generously gave of their time and insights, including Aquatec, AquaMetro, Polymaster, BecaHunterH2O, Melbourne Water, and South East Water / Iota.
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