SSI

Ahmad Ismail, an electrical engineer from Qatar with over 20 years of experience, arrived in Australia on a skills visa due to the ongoing shortage in his field. He completed his engineering degree at the University of Edinburgh and his master’s at the University of Wollongong. Despite his extensive experience in large electrical infrastructure projects overseas, he still can't secure a job in Australia. Our CEO, Violet Roumeliotis AM, teamed up with Melinda Cilento from CEDA - Committee for Economic Development of Australia to share their shared insights on boosting Australia’s skilled workforce and productivity. Their key takeaway: activating the skills of highly skilled overseas-trained workers, like Ahmad, is essential. Learn more about Activate Australia’s Skills campaign and sign our open letter: https://lnkd.in/gZ3MCYJR

An updated national disability strategy, released this week by Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth MP, signals much-needed attention to building a more inclusive Australia. When the strategy’s current target areas expire in 2025, we believe retaining employment as a focus area could deliver huge benefits to the community. There is a rich, untapped talent pool of around 113,000 Australians with disability who are unemployed and looking for work.  While the participation of people with disability in the labour force is improving, the progress is slow and unevenly spread. Read our full response here and find out about what SSI is doing to create change for people with disability: https://lnkd.in/geax6pVx

Wishing a happy Lunar New year to our community! 🏮 🐍 We are delighted to celebrate the Year of the Snake as the City of Sydney Lunar Festival charity partner of choice! This 19-day event is Australia's largest Lunar Festival and a landmark cultural celebration in Sydney. It unites communities with delicious food, spectacular performances, and insightful cultural experiences. We are especially proud to shine a spotlight on refugee-owned businesses participating in the festival from our Ignite Self-Employment Support program, including Sangee's Kitchen, Ensaymada etc, and Aliana catering, who will be sharing their delicious creations. Explore what's on and celebrate with us: https://lnkd.in/gxxCfwvE Wishing you a prosperous, adventurous, and fulfilling Lunar New Year! 🎉🐍 #LunarNewYear #YearOfTheSnake

Resettlement is not a privilege, but a humanitarian imperative. The US suspension of its refugee resettlement program for 'national security reasons' sets a concerning precedent that risks creating harm and uncertainty for some of the world's most vulnerable people. We are calling on Australia and all resettlement countries to not just maintain, but expand pathways for refugees. Our full response: https://lnkd.in/g9nPPriS

Merry Christmas, from us to you! 🎄❤️ This holiday season, thanks to our foster care community, we're reminded that love, hope and joy conquers all. Our annual foster care picnic brought together the amazing foster carers and children who make our community so special for a day of fun and connection. Swipe through to see the special moments and memories that children in care hold dear ❤️ Merry Christmas and happy holidays!✨ Whether you celebrate or not, we hope you all enjoy time to rest and reflect. We look forward to joining together again when our offices reopen on the 13th of January, ready to continue this important work with renewed energy and purpose. #christmas #happyholidays

We are proud to share that SSI has been awarded Gold Standard Provider status with Disability Employment Australia for 2024! Congratulations to our employment services team on this achievement! As a DEA Gold Standard Provider, SSI has shown that 75% of Disability Employment Services staff have completed the industry-leading and DEA endorsed Fundamentals for DES Microcredential. With thanks to genU Training and Disability Employment Australia.

"Life presents challenges, and as someone born in a war zone, I understand that sometimes life isn't fair. But life keeps moving forward, and by being resilient, you ensure that you keep moving forward too." When ISIS threats forced Iraqi-born Sam Matti to flee Baghdad within 12 hours, he left behind his career as a site engineer. Despite getting his overseas degree recognised in Australia, he faced costly private accreditation barriers that blocked his path back to engineering. Unwavering, Sam pivoted into project management where his skills and work ethic have propelled him into senior roles, whilst his engineering qualifications remain unused in Australia. While 90% of Australian businesses facing a critical skills shortage, talented professionals like Sam represent $9 billion in untapped potential for our economy. Get involved in the Activate Australia's Skills campaign: https://lnkd.in/gZ3MCYJR Read Sam's story: https://lnkd.in/gTyg2Vka

Last week, our Beyond Borders art exhibition came to life, with spectacular pieces by artists from refugee backgrounds transforming the upper ground floor of 1 Elizabeth. Having been in Australia for only a few months, artists from Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, Congo, Burma, and Iraq channeled their experiences into breathtaking art. Thousands of visitors witnessed their powerful stories, with some artworks even finding new homes through sales. At a morning tea event on Thursday, we celebrated the artists alongside their families, friends, and supporters. Guests had the opportunity to meet with the artists and hear the inspiration and stories driving their creations. For refugee artists, creative practice is more than a profession — it’s a lifeline that bridges past experiences with new possibilities. SSI is proud to have supported this initiative through our Creative Compass Program and the Community Refugee Welcome Centre. The Creative Compass initiative is just one of the ways we're reimagining settlement support by investing in newcomer's professional development and art and cultural participation. Thank you to 1 Elizabeth for hosting this exhibition and event. Collaborations, like this, are instrumental in creating opportunities for newcomers. Congratulations to the team that brought this exhibition, and this remarkable program, to life - including Ghasan Saaid, Jeffrey Ma, Moones Mansoubi, Claire Nemorin, lara Shaana, Walwala Sayed, Zoe Lusted and Jordan Wise.

Sharing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the national Australian flag is an important acknowledgment of our First Nations Peoples. It signals the respect we have for the traditional custodians of these lands. Displaying these flags together takes nothing away from our rich, shared national identity. It does not undermine social cohesion. It does not cause division. It is a powerful gesture of solidarity – an acknowledgment of communities who have been invisible until relatively recently in our nation’s modern history. Displaying these flags ensures recognition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples whose culture and identity that have so fundamentally shaped our nation. By sharing the flags of Australia’s First Nations’ Peoples alongside our national flag, we send a strong signal about the interconnected aspects of our country’s identity and acknowledging our diverse history and modern identity. As an organisation committed to reconciliation, SSI views the shared display of these flags as a practical step towards reconciliation, promoting inclusion and fostering mutual respect. We encourage leaders and decision makers around the country – both inside and outside the political sphere – to continue to uphold this shared display of unity, now and into the future. 

As 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence comes to an end, we stand in solidarity with UN Women's message this year: Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed. There’s No Excuse. Unite to End Violence against Women. SSI were united in the UN's call for more investment in prevention, and we advocated for investment into first-line responders - educators, health practitioners and other providers of social support, who are known and trusted members of community for women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. They are often the first point of call for women experiencing or at risk of family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV), who may be unfamiliar with the service system. You can read real life stories from first-line responders here. Over the last two weeks, SSI teams across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria attended vigils and held panel discussions and events to commemorate this significant period.  We also held a national-based webinar with guest speakers Elena Campbell, and Prof. Kelsey Hegarty, on how we can equip and support front-line responders in handling disclosures, with lived experience voices providing crucial insights during the webinar. Victorian teams came together to hold a specially focused panel discussion exploring ways to support community and faith leaders in responding to disclosures of FDSV. Thank you to our panelists, Tania Farha, Scott Holmes, Malavika Kadwadkar, Dr. Khaldoon Fahmi, Naomi Taranto and Paula Fernandez Arias, PhD, and MC Khayshie Tilak Ramesh. This event brought together sector leaders, faith and community leaders, and researchers to produce robust discussions and practical steps that will result in better outcomes for women and girls in community. In Queensland, teams invited women from the Thriving Afghan Women’s group to participate in their annual ‘clothesline’ painting T-shirt project. Some beautiful and poignant messages were expressed by the women and girls. The Queensland teams also put on Henna, massages, music and more for the local women of Logan. Thanks to our teams and communities for making this #16DaysofActivism a memorable one. 16 Days of Activism symbolically ends on Human Rights Day, 10th December. Every woman and girl have a right to live free from violence.