More than 600 individuals attended the event, which was held at Fairfield Youth Centre on Wednesday 19 October 2022, hosted by a partnership of local government and non-government Fairfield agencies.
We spoke with Simon Sogora, from CORE Community services, the Event Coordinator, who told us the importance of hosting such Expos in Fairfield, 'a city with high unemployment rates' and the benefit that attendees gain by attending the workshops, accepting resume preparation support and meeting with other employers and services that can assist them in accessing employment, skills and training opportunities.
We also spoke with Mr Reni Barkho, Deputy Mayor of Fairfield City Council, a local of Fairfield and resident since 1994, shares his support and encouragement to newly arrived migrants, he was also one of the keynote speakers for the formal proceedings of the Expo.
We hear from Ramsen Sada, a Team Leader from Settlement Services International and his colleague, Julie. We also spoke with Gina from MTC Australia, which hosted a stall at the Expo, inviting attendees to learn about the potential of studying a Business Start-up course.
Mrs Carmen Lazar, Manager at the Assyrian Resource Centre also spoke to us about the support provided to newly arrived migrants, to develop skills and obtain opportunities in meeting with employers from various fields and work sectors, such as Western Sydney Airport.
SBS Assyrian had the opportunity to speak directly with three attendees who shared their thoughts about the Expo, a couple of whom arrived in Australia less than two months ago, tell us about their experience attending the Expo and the importance of developing their English language skills to seek employment and further education.
The Pathways to Employment Expo provided attendees with bi-lingual staff and volunteers speaking more than six languages to encourage access and equity.
