Newly arrived migrant women in the Hastings, Manning and Great Lakes regions will have the ability to access two new programs to learn skills to help them support themselves in the financially.
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Manning Valley Neighbourhood Services' (MVNS) Migrant Settlement Project has secured a grant of $49,610 from the federal government’s Fostering Integration Grants program.
The migrant worker based in Wingham, Jane O'Dwyer, has begun planning delivery of the programs.
In Taree 12 women will participate in a pilot market stall project including education and training sessions, mentoring and work experience to equip them with the English, skills, qualifications, knowledge and experience to run their own market food stalls.
They’ve already got the cooking skills, but it’s knowing how to go about it.
- Jane O'Dwyer, migrant worker
“The Taree one is based on working with the English teacher at TAFE," Jane said.
"For more than the last couple of years students have wanted to run their own food market stalls. As we know, you can’t just cook food at home and sell it. People think they can," she explained.
"They would go to TAFE and learn all the aspects of running a food market stall, particularly vocational English, the council regulations, all the other legal requirements, tips and tricks on how to do it."
The students will be mentored and have a practice run at having a market stall. Their final project will be to run a stall at a community market.
"At the end they’ve got the capacity to either work together or independently to run their own stall. They’ve got all their qualifications, they’ve done their training, they’ve had a bit of practise," Jane said.
"They’ve already got the cooking skills, but it’s knowing how to go about it.”
In Port Macquarie 12 women will participate in a pilot Multicultural Skills Development Project focusing on education and skills development in a targeted job sector providing English language learning through to training and work experience.
The program will work towards employment in the home and community care sector.
Port Macquarie Community College will work in partnership with the Migrant Settlement Project to deliver the program.
Funding for both the pilot programs allows the women to access all aspects of the courses at no cost to themselves financially.
“I’m pretty excited," Jane said. "The settlement sector as a whole last year had it’s funding cut and my funding position service, starting as of this January, is less, so I couldn’t have any projects like this without external funding."
Federal Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie visited MVNS in Wingham in February to announce the funding and congratulate the organisation.
Julia Driscoll
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
