Social awareness programs could provide migrant workers with "a better experience"

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Created on Tuesday, 10 January 2012 18:02

Written by Editorial staff

The challenges faced by migrants who choose to travel to  Australia are many - with a change in language, customs and laws being just some of the hurdles they may be confronted with.

Yet despite this, many still choose to undertake the journey - some for work purposes, others for family, friends and the opportunity for a better life.

For some, their integration into the local society is fairly seamless - becoming a productive part of the economy with a minimum of interference.

Unfortunately, this transition is not always so smooth, as noted by opposition citizenship spokeswoman Teresa Gambaro.

In an interview with The Australian on January 10 Gambaro suggested that programs could be deployed to help new arrivals to Australia understand what constitutes as the "acceptable norm" within the broader community.

The spokeswoman said that it was especially important for migrants to be able to work cohesively with their local counterparts as well as each other.

"It's not just about having bodies in the workplace," Gambaro  asserted: "If they are going to have a good experience working for us here in Australia they need to have cultural awareness and socially skilled workers as well as being work-skilled workers.

"If you're a mining company you'll have a whole pile of people coming in from India or China or anywhere else you need to have socially skilled workers."

She took the opportunity to point out that this sort of training was already supplied -albeit in a limited form - to members of the armed forces who were being deployed internationally.

Gambaro stated: "We put them [ADF personnel] through cultural awareness training; we need to do the same when they come into Australia because they will have a better experience."

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is already responsible for ensuring that visa applicants and migration agents are aware of the minimum English requirements and also offers a range of materials to assist with understanding local history and culture.

In particular the Life In Australia publication - available in a number of languages - helps to provide "an overview of Australia" including the importance of respecting "equal worth, dignity and freedom of the individual".

However, Gambaro suggests that a more concrete introductory program could produce superior results in the long term.

"The detail of this has to be worked out - whether it's included as part of a visa charge for certain industries or done through a labour-hire firm."

For immigration agents, this kind of service could help their clients to integrate with Australian society more readily - reducing the frictions commonly experienced by international workers as they begin their new positions overseas.