Ammar’s Story

Finding job stability and security in these challenging times

Australia’s unemployment rate is expected to reach between 10% and 15% by the end of the year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Treasury and Grattan Institute, 2020)

The economic impact of COVID-19 has been devastating and Australia is rapidly heading towards double digit unemployment – the highest since the Great Depression. With high unemployment expected to persist for some years, young people, older workers, those with lower levels of education and English, jobseekers with disability, and those living outside our major cities will be hardest hit and require special measures.

Ammar, pictured below, is an example of how the support provided by the Brotherhood of St. Laurence can change someone’s life in these challenging times.

Arriving in Australia in 2016 seeking asylum, Ammar was determined to make a better life for himself and his family. He worked hard to find opportunities but was only able to find seasonal harvesting work.

When he lost his job at the end of the season this year, Ammar was unable to find new work as many local opportunities had dried up due to COVID-19 and was also unable to access government financial assistance due to his temporary visa status.

Like Ammar, an estimated 22,000 people on temporary visas are expected to lose work due to COVID-19, all with no access to social security. This represents an unemployment rate of over 40% for this group of people. (Refugee Council of Australia, 2020)

Ammar was behind on rent having exhausted his savings and was living in a caravan with his pregnant wife and six-year-old son when he was referred to Sophie, an advisor at BSL’s Work and Learning Centre in Shepparton.

Sophie assisted Ammar to update his resume, practice interview skills and apply for local jobs. Along with this support, Sophie also connected Ammar to job opportunities with GROW (Growing Regional Opportunities for Work) Greater Shepparton, as well as Beyond Housing who provided him with rental relief and are supporting him to secure his new rental house.

Through GROW Greater Shepparton, a job opportunity became available at Med Con due to COVID-19. Med Con, a local manufacturer that produces Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), needed new staff urgently for their rapidly growing operations.

Sophie advocated for Ammar to be given a chance at Med Con, and after the interview process, Ammar was successful in securing a full-time position with Med Con. For Ammar and his young family, this job meant stability, security and hope for the future ahead.

I look forward to thanking Sophie in person one day for her compassionate support and for having faith in me, when no one else did.

Ammar

With unemployment rates skyrocketing, BSL’s employment programs are seeing unprecedented demand. We’re helping people not only with support to secure employment but also with immediate financial assistance and help keep them in suitable housing.

Your gift today will help us support people like Ammar to navigate the current economic crisis and build a stable and more secure future for themselves, and their families.

Together, we can emerge from the current economic crisis as a fairer and more just society for all.