One of the Give Where You Live Foundation’s priority areas is making sure that everyone who wants to work has the opportunity and support to work.
GROW, an initiative of the Foundation, works not only to educate industries on the benefits of engaging with the community through connection and collaboration, but the importance of seeking diversity outside of the mainstream platforms of recruitment. Being an inclusive and supportive workplace is the best foundation for employing people with barriers to employment. This means a workplace where staff feel supported and have a sense of belonging.
The Give Where You Live Foundation’s GROW initiative is proud to continue advocating and being a voice for change in supporting people with barriers to employment find meaningful work.
We recently caught up with the team from SCAADA, a local business tackling environmental challenges who actively advocate for and support their local community. Through GROW’s strong community network, we heard about Ergul’s story. With connection and the support of our partners, the GROW team advocated for an opportunity, SCAADA presented the pathway, and a platform for Ergul to thrive was created.
Ergul’s story
Ergul left her home country of Turkey over six years ago to study English in Australia, seeking both a new challenge, and a career change. With a background in chemistry and engineering, she had already established herself as an engineer in Turkey. However, when she arrived in Australia, her qualifications and experience were not formally recognised. This is an example of an ongoing barrier that people face when moving to Australia.
Despite this setback, Ergul quickly discovered a deep appreciation for life in Australia, embracing the opportunities and new experiences that came her way.
“I thought this is the one-time opportunity. Why not stay here a little bit longer for a good opportunity?” Ergul said.
When the COVID pandemic hit and Ergul was unable to return to Turkey, she took on the challenge of studying here for a degree in Project Management.
“I thought it will be good for me, for my career, and then getting into the industry. Getting a chance to work in Australia, that would be amazing. I completed that degree, and then I started looking around, applying for jobs.”
Despite her determination, finding meaningful employment proved to be an uphill battle. She applied to countless jobs across all major platforms but received little to no response. The lack of Australian work experience, her visa restrictions, and communication barriers, all contributed to the silence.
“I was applying for jobs I wasn’t interested in,” Ergul reflects. “I just needed to get some experience here, anything that would give me a start.”
“Having no local experience made it hard to prove myself, even when I’d done the job before. The task might be easy, but as someone from another country, the cultural and communication challenges can be overwhelming,” Ergul said.
One of the biggest hurdles was her visa, which only allowed part-time work. “Many employers didn’t want to take the risk because I could only commit for a year or so. But so much can happen in a year, if you’re just given the chance.”
To build a foundation of experience in Australia, Ergul took on casual work as a waitress and later secured a role in the aged care sector. She remained open to a wide range of opportunities; however, despite her efforts, she faced repeated setbacks when applying for roles aligned with her qualifications.
At the same time, she began volunteering at Cultura, a local Geelong organisation supporting culturally diverse communities. Through her volunteer work, Ergul developed valuable skills and, just as importantly, built meaningful relationships and networks. Her involvement with Cultura marked a turning point in her journey, where she was introduced to their work placement program. This program connected her with local organisations, and with support from GROW, her resume was shared among partner networks to help identify an inclusive employment opportunity.
That chance came when Ergul joined SCAADA.
For the first time, she was welcomed into a team that invested in her growth. With mentorship and support, she thrived, both technically and personally.
“I’ve grown so much. All I needed was someone to give me a real opportunity. I was so lucky to have a community that advocated for me.”
As a leading provider of environmental consultant and safety solutions, SCAADA is dedicated to creating sustainable outcomes for businesses and communities. SCAADA’s CEO, Tony Costa says Ergul is an asset to their business.
“Ergul has shown considerable growth across both parts of our business. She’s gone from occupational hygiene technician into the enviro team which is a credit to Ergul’s dedication, hard work and learning. With her qualifications from Turkey not being recognised here, she’s grown through internal training, amazingly with English as her second language.”
Ergul is up for the challenge and is enjoying her role at SCAADA. “I’m learning a lot. This is a very new career for me, because what I was doing back in Turkey was totally different to that what I’m doing today. There’s lots of training, lots of learning, which I’m so excited for, because I’m always open to learn new things. It’s really giving me the opportunity to work in different sides of things.”
For Ergul, her SCAADA work team have become like family and Tony says the business was only too happy to support her application for a visa to work in Australia. The process was complex and difficult to complete but the outcome was mutually beneficial for both of them.
“I was questioning myself at the beginning, but since I started at SCAADA and working more and seeing me grow, it’s giving me more confidence. It’s like a big school for me, and family. SCAADA is school and family.”