Is this innovative program the best way to get skilled migrants into work?

0 Comments read Features, Human Resource

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 14.07.2017 (HRM): Of the highly trained humanitarian skilled migrants entering Australia, few end up in jobs that make use of their skills. Some companies, however, are beginning to realise what they’re missing out on.

Rami Yousifani, a graduate in computer communications engineering from the Al-Mansour University College in Baghdad, arrived in Australia under the Special Humanitarian Program last September. Despite having in-demand skills, he was one of many skilled migrants almost certain of not finding employment.

“I didn’t have an Australian degree, local work experience or local references, which I was told were essential for getting a job. So, I decided to refine my communication skills and enrolled at an English language school, Navitas English in Fairfield,” says Yousifani.

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Gender Equality Will Be Key to Achieving SDGs in Viet Nam

0 Comments read Environment & Development, Features, Gender
Pham Thi Kim Viet, a tour guide, shows visitors the map of Huế, a city in central Vietnam which was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Ha Noi/Hoi An (Vietnam), 27.04.2017 (IDN): Pham Thi Kim Viet is up before the rooster heralds the crack of dawn. The rice in the cooker is beginning to boil as she tosses freshly chopped vegetables and fish in a wok. She then hurries to wake her two daughters, 12 and four years old. At 7am, dressed in laundered uniforms, she drops them at school on her trusted old scooter and proceeds to Hoi An, 30km from her home in the mountains of Dai Loc district in central Vietnam, to report for work as a freelance tour guide.

“Each day is a struggle to make ends meet. I work between 10 and 12 hours a day during high tourist season to earn US$20. During low tourist season, there is very little work and I constantly worry about paying bills and putting food on the table”, says Viet, who has been coping with mental and financial abuse from her husband. The physical violence ended, when he moved out, but he drops in anytime, sometimes to demand money.

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Education & Jobs Crucial As Cambodia Records Pro-Poor Growth

0 Comments read Education, Environment & Development, Features, Gender
Children await the arrival of King Norodom Sihamoni on the streets of Siem Reap. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Siem Reap/Battambang (Cambodia), 30.03.2017 (IDN) – The once conflict ridden, impoverished country of Cambodia has made significant strides towards stability and progress, but it is still facing several socio-economic development challenges.

In 2016, it became a lower middle-income country after recording an annual average economic growth of seven percent over the past decade. “The country’s economy has trebled and the number of people living in poverty has halved in the last 15 years. We have to set development issues in the context of those successes,” says Nick Beresford, United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Cambodia Country Director.

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