Work venture for marginalised women a roaring success

A PROGRAM to help provide corporate clothing, resume and interview training for marginalised women is booming.

Sujee Kariyawasam, who undertook a TAFE adjustment program for migrant workers, with volunteer Gayle Philipp

Finding a white-collar job can be difficult for women marginalised in Australian society, including refugees, migrants and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

A program which began in 2005 to help provide corporate clothing, and later resume and interview training, Fitted for Work, is now booming and last month celebrated having helped 16,000 women enter the jobs market.

Chief executive Jane Hunt says the not-for-profit organisation was set up with less than $3000 in funding as a free dressing service for disadvantaged people looking for work. Hunt says it “grew like topsy” and its founders, Marion Webster and Renata Singer, realised there was something gender specific about getting ready for work.

The pair held clothing drives and more and more corporate women in high positions began to donate quality items of clothing that were just out of season or barely worn. At one corporate office, BT in Sydney, Hunt says women donated 4000 pieces of clothing, all which could be used in a fitting process suited to a person’s shape and style.

“If there’s a clothing donation in a workplace women are hopeless because what they donate is visible, they won’t donate anything that’s not nice,” Hunt says.

The organisation now has 120 partners, including companies which provide work experience and placements, clothing companies which donate items, makeup suppliers and organisations which hold drives.

“We’re an entirely elective service, we’re not part of the government’s funded suite of job services,” she says.

“The women that come to us are highly motivated, they just might not have the skills or they might have a health issue which prevents them from working full time or keeping a job.”

Hunt says not being bound by government funding or job contracts means Fitted for Work is not restricted by timeframes and continue to help a woman for an unlimited period, and its services are free.

Those services include styling sessions, teaching them how to wear makeup, resume writing and cultural interview skills, and clothing for their first weeks at work. According to Hunt, that means when participants find a job, they will not have to spend their first two pay packets on suitable clothes.

“Every client also gets a pack of toiletries and makeup. If you’re in a boarding house or on a low income it helps,” she says. “Our service is to help women feel really good about themselves and then we layer the skills on top with experience.”

Hunt says helping disadvantaged women look the part for the corporate world removes a personal barrier for them, loading them up with confidence. “People are judged very quickly on appearance. Non-verbal cues are first and we remove that for them.”

The Coca Cola Australia Foundation has been a major supporter of Fitted for Work over the past two years, donating $115,000 to two of its programs, which have included teaching presentation skills. CCAF chair Julie White says being able to provide employment training is absolutely critical.

“You’re breaking a cycle in unemployment which impacts on their whole life and their family,” White says. “You’ve got a role model in the home if a mum goes to work. If you’ve got children or a partner it provides a pathway to work, it’s not just for the women taking part.”

White says the program evolved from simply dressing women for interviews. “People felt better about themselves but (we asked) do they know how to do an interview, do they know how to write a resume?”

White says the philanthropic industry has become more sophisticated and dollars can be scarce. “The old days of ringing up people and asking them for a cheque have gone, you need to be profiling and making sure you’re hitting the right companies for the program that fits your people,” she says.

“We won’t fund children under 13 and adults over 25. We have a clear target, including those who are most marginalised.”

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Mentoring helps open the door to world of work

SRI Lankan-born mother-of-three Sujee Kariyawasam moved to Australia three years ago in search of better living conditions and improved economic and career opportunities.

She found it extremely difficult to find a job despite being a certified practising accountant, because many companies wanted employees with local experience.

“Each time I applied through an agency they asked for local experience and I don’t know how to get local experience without working,” Kariyawasam says.

“70 per cent of jobs in Australia is through personal contacts and I didn’t have any here as a migrant.”

She undertook a TAFE adjustment program for migrant workers and Fitted for Work was recommended.

Kariyawasam paired with the program’s only male mentor, Leigh Powell, a banking industry consultant.

Powell says 50 per cent of those interviewing candidates for a job are men, and it is important for women to be exposed to different styles of interviews and even mentoring.

“Jane Hunt commented that my mentoring style is different to others,” Powell says.

“She said women mentors are very much a nurturing style of support and understanding. Mine is also high in expectation that the mentee takes responsibility for each and every step and is asked to step outside of their comfort zone.”

While Powell says mentors are not job providers, he helped Kariyawasam find an accountancy role through a contact. She was made redundant after nine months but found another accountancy job at a clothing company.

Powell describes Kariyawasam as the poster girl for Fitted for Work because she takes advice on board.

“When I first worked with Sujee she couldn’t look me in the eye,” he says.

“It was cultural ... I look at that person now and I don’t see the same woman at all.

“She’s a confident person and she’s bouncing ideas around, and she can solve problems.”