WHEN David Majok showed up for his first day of work as a mechanic his boss was forced to change his views.
“Later in the day, he came up to me and said he’d expected that I couldn’t do the job,” he says.
Mr Majok arrived in Australia in 2006. He’s now an African community leader and studying finance.
But his first attempts to gain employment were frustrating.
An expectation of failure is how he described the attitude of some employers.
Mr Majok and fellow community leader Deng Malith cite unemployment as the No.1 problem for African youth.
“These kids need to get part-time jobs, so they start to learn to be responsible before they finish school,” Mr Malith said.
“If they can’t get a job, that will lead to dependence on welfare. If they can get jobs they can be an example to other young people.”
Unemployment can cause tension in families, both men say, as parents have high hopes that their children will carve out successful lives in their new homeland.
“When they come here they expect they will get a job and work to support themselves,” Mr Malith said.
“When you have to depend on the government like you depended on the United Nations back in the refugee camps, it’s sad. It’s the cause of much of the drinking, too.”
A police-run Maribyrnong African Youth Advisory Committee, started about six months ago, is trying to link young people with jobs and training.
Footscray police community liaison officer Senior Constable Ash Dixit said that, often, coming to grips with how the system worked was the biggest hurdle for youth.
“They come from different countries and backgrounds to a totally different culture and it might be they need guidance about how to apply for a job or an apprenticeship.
“The barriers to employment could be education. Coming from a war-torn country they don’t know how to talk to people about getting a job.”
A youth employment information session will be held at Phoenix Youth Centre, 72 Buckley Street, Footscray, from 5-7.30pm on March 14.
More details: 83989975
