International giant IKEA in Springvale has made a drive to employ refugees and new arrivals who face greater barriers to work.
Twenty-six individuals from seven different cultural backgrounds, speaking 11 languages and aged between 18 to 57 years have got a job at the store as part of a Refugee Workforce Inclusion pilot program.
Ziba Rahimi arrived in Australia with basic English in 2019. She worked in several shops in Dandenong with people from the same background as hers.
An opportunity to secure employment in the Sales team at IKEA’s Springvale location so soon was not something she fathomed as she tried to wrap her head around the new environment.
“I was thinking if I secure a job amongst English speaking people it would be difficult because of the differences, given they were born or grew up here.
“But I realised there’s more people just like me, with the same level of English as mine.
“After that I gained confidence that it cannot be such a huge deal.
“They were so excited to work with me, know a lot about me. One of them was studying about human rights so she had some knowledge about people from my background and culture.”
After four years she says IKEA’s diversity tops as the company’s “biggest achievement” in comparison to other workplaces in her experience and the sense of belonging everyone shares in the workplace.
The program nears its fifth anniversary, and that number is set to be increased to 40 recruitments per year across the country.
The pilot program, launched in 2020 in partnership with Community Corporate provided paid work placements to refugees and asylum seekers in a bid to fast-track their confidence, breakdown of barriers such as English language, knowledge of the Australian workforce and most importantly to build their resume work experience making it easier to find employment.
However, 84 per cent of those in the pilot program secured ongoing employment and created a permanent pathway to IKEA’s recruitment process globally.
Leading the program is Harriet Pope who says the program is a “big part of investment” at IKEA.
“This is really an untapped talent pathway for us.
“These are candidates we wouldn’t meet through our normal traditional recruitment channels and we are all about trying to be inclusive and removing barriers but reality is these are people we normally wouldn’t meet through that process.
“It’s just been an incredibly beneficially investment for us in a tight labour market but also for everyone else involved in the program.”
She shares hiring managers speak highly of the individuals for their fresh perspectives, new ideas and experiences into the team.
“They bring with themselves different attributes starting with their diversity.
“Springvale’s local demography is incredibly culturally diverse this is such a huge benefit to us, and big part of investment is that we have people join us who have those shared cultural connection and languages meaning it has positive impact on our customer experience too.
“When refugees and asylums seekers arrive, they bring all of their skills, capability and motivation with them but unfortunately too often that talent and potential goes unrealised due to a lot of barriers and only 22 per cent are in paid employment even after two years of arriving in Australia.
“We really believe that employers, especially large employer like us, play a role in actively welcoming refugee and people seeking asylum to welcome them in our workplace and to let them demonstrate their capabilities and reach their full potential in Australia.”
The international giant has employed 250 people across Australia’s 13 different location.
Community Corporate, a refugee and migrant employment specialist organisation were able to attend different locations to engage with the community and raise awareness of the program.
Potential employees also underwent three days of pre-employment training process and were buddied up for at least four to five-weeks post-employment as a “soft landing” to support their learning and growth.
Whilst IKEA’s recruitment process is open once a year, hiring managers have the freedom to employ throughout the year.
