easy-accordion-free domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/mother99/jacksonholdingcompany.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114zoho-flow domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/mother99/jacksonholdingcompany.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114wordpress-seo domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/mother99/jacksonholdingcompany.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Empowering refugees with vital digital skills and meaningful job opportunities through Cisco Networking Academy, Community Corporate in Australia is getting results.<\/p>\n
\u200b[[{“value”:”<\/p>\n
June 20 marks World Refugee Day<\/a>, designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. The latest statistics show that more than 110 million people<\/a> have been forcibly displaced worldwide in 2023\u2014the highest-ever single-year increase of displacement of people in history and twice the number of displacements from just ten years ago.<\/p>\n Countries hosting refugees face challenges integrating new arrivals into their societies. Digital inclusion may be a key for achieving this. Evidence from the EU suggests that training refugees in digital skills is vital to aid in their integration<\/a>. And Cisco is working with the OECD<\/a> to help develop an interactive knowledge hub to help understand technology\u2019s role in fostering inclusion and improving well-being.<\/p>\n Around the world Cisco has numerous programs to support refugees<\/a>. Many of these initiatives are designed to provide immediate assistance to displaced persons in need. Cisco Networking Academy\u2019s focus on transforming the lives of learners, educators, and communities through the power of technology, education, and career opportunities to power an inclusive future for all addresses the longer-term needs of underserved communities.<\/a><\/p>\n In the refugee space, programs such as Cisco For Ukraine in Poland<\/a> are working towards empowering refugees with tech skills that will help refugees find employment and meaningful connections in their new countries.<\/p>\n Staff at Community Corporate, Australia<\/p>\n Australia is home to the third highest percentage of immigrants<\/a> (which includes refugees) and native-born offspring of immigrants in the OECD. Migrants in Australia have helped offset an ageing population and improved workforce participation and productivity. And while migrants tend to be more highly educated than Australians, there is a low rate of recognition of previous qualifications, meaning they tend to be overeducated for the jobs they occupy.<\/p>\n Community Corporate<\/a> is a Cisco Networking Academy working to address this issue with the refugee community in Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a two-year pilot that the federal government subsidized us for,\u201d says Founder and CEO of Community Corporate Carmen Garcia. \u201cOur hypothesis was that refugees with overseas qualifications and some experience would be much more accelerated to meet industry demand for jobs with the right vendor partner upskilling program in place.\u201d<\/p>\n Community Corporate is putting refugees from Afghanistan, Jordan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen, who have been in Australia from as little as four months to 15 years, through the Cisco Networking Academy program, and placing them with employers.<\/p>\n \u201cOur model as a social enterprise is payment by outcomes,\u201d says Carmen. \u201cEmployers don\u2019t pay us unless they retain the talent. We are committed to working with both employer and the refugee candidate for those 12 months, that\u2019s why there\u2019s high conversion.\u201d<\/p>\n Carmen Garcia, Founder and CEO, Community Corporate Australia<\/p>\n \u201cNo one chooses to be a refugee. I think people forget that,\u201d says Carmen. \u201cHere are some amazing individuals who are being proactive. They did 150 hours of Cisco Networking Academy coursework. They weren\u2019t paid. They chose to do that. This just shows how resilient, how determined new Australians are to make the most of their lives here.\u201d<\/p>\n Carmen says the pass-rate for the participants is very high, and that for \u201cthe vast majority of the participants, it\u2019s about confidence. And that\u2019s about believing in their talent.\u201d<\/p>\n It has helped that instructor Ying Ying Yang<\/a>\u2014herself an immigrant to Australia\u2014volunteered her time to assist with the training. Ying Ying faced many challenges similar to the refugee cohort when studying the Cisco Networking Academy<\/a> in Australia, so was able to relate.<\/p>\n Cisco Networking Academy Instructor, Ying Ying Yang<\/p>\n \u201cThe learners may have some background knowledge but because of the new environment, they are a bit shy to ask the questions to know where to start,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to the new environment, I just use my own experience and to encourage them, to give them some idea, because I\u2019m an immigrant to Australia too. When I started, I didn\u2019t even come from an IT background, and everything seemed hard, but it just takes a bit of time,\u201d says Ying Ying.<\/p>\n Sometimes language can be a problem, but Ying Ying and Community Corporate offered some assistance here too. \u201cCisco provides a fabulous English course, English for IT,<\/a>\u201d says Ying Ying. \u201cWe decided to give the students access to the course. It has a focus on IT terminology. I think that course is really good, and I review it to learn the words in the IT work environment to communicate with others. It is a good course!\u201d<\/p>\n Community Corporate\u2019s partnerships with employers help too. \u201cIt\u2019s the matchmaker concept of really understanding what employers are looking for, and then helping to upskill the refugees with the technical and soft skills to be ready to match them for a sustainable, meaningful outcome,\u201d says Carmen.<\/p>\n Overcoming the unconscious bias that remains in the recruitment process is one challenge. Recruiters don\u2019t like to see gaps in resumes, but fleeing for your life is likely to create such a gap, notes Carmen.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, business is business,\u201d she says. \u201cReminding employers that Australia is one of the few OECD countries where a migrant population is actually more skilled than the native population makes people stop and think and wonder, hang on, why aren\u2019t we tapping into this?\u201d<\/p>\n Community Corporate Trainer, Sava Said<\/p>\n Carmen herself is the daughter of an immigrant who was a lawyer in the Philippines but had to do cleaning jobs to make ends meet when she arrived in Australia. As a teenager Carmen started volunteering to help advocate for fellow Filipinos and subsequently went on to found Community Corporate.<\/p>\n In 2024 Carmen was recognized as Member of the Order of Australia<\/a> (AM) for her significant service to the multicultural community through diversity and inclusion advocacy and programs.<\/p>\n \u201cI just felt that it was about dignity and purpose,\u201d says Carmen. \u201cSome of our other earlier refugees who have been working for over 12 months have said they bought houses because they\u2019ve got permanent full-time jobs. So, you know, one job does make a difference for a refugee.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not social inclusion, it\u2019s inclusion. It\u2019s economic inclusion. Belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n “}]]\u00a0\u00a0Empowering refugees with vital digital skills and meaningful job opportunities through Cisco Networking Academy, Community Corporate in Australia is getting results.\u00a0\u00a0Read More<\/a>\u00a0Cisco Blogs\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/p>\n Empowering refugees with vital digital skills and meaningful job opportunities through Cisco Networking Academy, Community Corporate in Australia is getting results.<\/p>\n \u200b[[{“value”:”<\/p>\n June 20 marks World Refugee Day<\/a>, designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe. The latest statistics show that more than 110 million people<\/a> have been forcibly displaced worldwide in 2023\u2014the highest-ever single-year increase of displacement of people in history and twice the number of displacements from just ten years ago.<\/p>\n Countries hosting refugees face challenges integrating new arrivals into their societies. Digital inclusion may be a key for achieving this. Evidence from the EU suggests that training refugees in digital skills is vital to aid in their integration<\/a>. And Cisco is working with the OECD<\/a> to help develop an interactive knowledge hub to help understand technology\u2019s role in fostering inclusion and improving well-being.<\/p>\n Around the world Cisco has numerous programs to support refugees<\/a>. Many of these initiatives are designed to provide immediate assistance to displaced persons in need. Cisco Networking Academy\u2019s focus on transforming the lives of learners, educators, and communities through the power of technology, education, and career opportunities to power an inclusive future for all addresses the longer-term needs of underserved communities.<\/a><\/p>\n In the refugee space, programs such as Cisco For Ukraine in Poland<\/a> are working towards empowering refugees with tech skills that will help refugees find employment and meaningful connections in their new countries.<\/p>\n Staff at Community Corporate, Australia<\/p>\n Australia is home to the third highest percentage of immigrants<\/a> (which includes refugees) and native-born offspring of immigrants in the OECD. Migrants in Australia have helped offset an ageing population and improved workforce participation and productivity. And while migrants tend to be more highly educated than Australians, there is a low rate of recognition of previous qualifications, meaning they tend to be overeducated for the jobs they occupy.<\/p>\n Community Corporate<\/a> is a Cisco Networking Academy working to address this issue with the refugee community in Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a two-year pilot that the federal government subsidized us for,\u201d says Founder and CEO of Community Corporate Carmen Garcia. \u201cOur hypothesis was that refugees with overseas qualifications and some experience would be much more accelerated to meet industry demand for jobs with the right vendor partner upskilling program in place.\u201d<\/p>\n Community Corporate is putting refugees from Afghanistan, Jordan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen, who have been in Australia from as little as four months to 15 years, through the Cisco Networking Academy program, and placing them with employers.<\/p>\n \u201cOur model as a social enterprise is payment by outcomes,\u201d says Carmen. \u201cEmployers don\u2019t pay us unless they retain the talent. We are committed to working with both employer and the refugee candidate for those 12 months, that\u2019s why there\u2019s high conversion.\u201d<\/p>\n Carmen Garcia, Founder and CEO, Community Corporate Australia<\/p>\n \u201cNo one chooses to be a refugee. I think people forget that,\u201d says Carmen. \u201cHere are some amazing individuals who are being proactive. They did 150 hours of Cisco Networking Academy coursework. They weren\u2019t paid. They chose to do that. This just shows how resilient, how determined new Australians are to make the most of their lives here.\u201d<\/p>\n Carmen says the pass-rate for the participants is very high, and that for \u201cthe vast majority of the participants, it\u2019s about confidence. And that\u2019s about believing in their talent.\u201d<\/p>\n It has helped that instructor Ying Ying Yang<\/a>\u2014herself an immigrant to Australia\u2014volunteered her time to assist with the training. Ying Ying faced many challenges similar to the refugee cohort when studying the Cisco Networking Academy<\/a> in Australia, so was able to relate.<\/p>\n Cisco Networking Academy Instructor, Ying Ying Yang<\/p>\n \u201cThe learners may have some background knowledge but because of the new environment, they are a bit shy to ask the questions to know where to start,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to the new environment, I just use my own experience and to encourage them, to give them some idea, because I\u2019m an immigrant to Australia too. When I started, I didn\u2019t even come from an IT background, and everything seemed hard, but it just takes a bit of time,\u201d says Ying Ying.<\/p>\n Sometimes language can be a problem, but Ying Ying and Community Corporate offered some assistance here too. \u201cCisco provides a fabulous English course, English for IT,<\/a>\u201d says Ying Ying. \u201cWe decided to give the students access to the course. It has a focus on IT terminology. I think that course is really good, and I review it to learn the words in the IT work environment to communicate with others. It is a good course!\u201d<\/p>\n Community Corporate\u2019s partnerships with employers help too. \u201cIt\u2019s the matchmaker concept of really understanding what employers are looking for, and then helping to upskill the refugees with the technical and soft skills to be ready to match them for a sustainable, meaningful outcome,\u201d says Carmen.<\/p>\n Overcoming the unconscious bias that remains in the recruitment process is one challenge. Recruiters don\u2019t like to see gaps in resumes, but fleeing for your life is likely to create such a gap, notes Carmen.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, business is business,\u201d she says. \u201cReminding employers that Australia is one of the few OECD countries where a migrant population is actually more skilled than the native population makes people stop and think and wonder, hang on, why aren\u2019t we tapping into this?\u201d<\/p>\n Community Corporate Trainer, Sava Said<\/p>\n Carmen herself is the daughter of an immigrant who was a lawyer in the Philippines but had to do cleaning jobs to make ends meet when she arrived in Australia. As a teenager Carmen started volunteering to help advocate for fellow Filipinos and subsequently went on to found Community Corporate.<\/p>\n In 2024 Carmen was recognized as Member of the Order of Australia<\/a> (AM) for her significant service to the multicultural community through diversity and inclusion advocacy and programs.<\/p>\n \u201cI just felt that it was about dignity and purpose,\u201d says Carmen. \u201cSome of our other earlier refugees who have been working for over 12 months have said they bought houses because they\u2019ve got permanent full-time jobs. So, you know, one job does make a difference for a refugee.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not social inclusion, it\u2019s inclusion. It\u2019s economic inclusion. Belonging.\u201d<\/p>\nCalling Australia home<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Skills to jobs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cNo one chooses to be a refugee. I think people forget that\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Overcoming bias<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Results and rewards<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Learn more about Cisco Networking Academy on the Cisco ESG Reporting Hub<\/a><\/h2>\n
Calling Australia home<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Skills to jobs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cNo one chooses to be a refugee. I think people forget that\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Overcoming bias<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Results and rewards<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Learn more about Cisco Networking Academy on the Cisco ESG Reporting Hub<\/a><\/h2>\n