When Adnan Hussein* fled Iraq, he left behind a town in ruins.
“My hometown of Baghdeda was my paradise, when ISIS invaded, it was chaos; there was no electricity, no water and sounds of explosions were everywhere”. In 2018, Adnan was granted a Refugee visa and began his new life in Australia with his wife and three young children.
Like many new arrivals, Adnan had employment qualifications but faced barriers breaking in to the Australian job market. After submitting a string of applications for engineering jobs that didn’t lead to interviews, he approached Jesuit Social Services and was linked in with our Major Projects employment team. The team provided Adnan with a range of services to improve his job prospects in the Australian market. This included support with improving his resume and cover letter, certification of his overseas qualification, and training to help him navigate the recruitment process.
The Major Projects employment team supported Adnan to gain an Engineering Pathways Industry Cadetship (EPIC). This is an 18-month industry-wide cadetship for refugee and asylum seeker engineers, working on major transport infrastructure projects, enabling them to gain paid employment in entry-level engineering jobs.
The EPIC program also granted Adnan the opportunity to participate in further study in his field. Through hard work and dedication, Adnan now holds a Graduate Certificate in Infrastructure Engineering Management from Swinburne University.
Adnan commenced employment in 2020 with Metro Trains Melbourne. Adnan is now a site engineer working for Metropolitan Roads Program Alliance on the Level Crossing Removal project.
The support from the Major Projects employment team was instrumental in helping Adnan find a permanent role in his chosen field, and he couldn’t be happier. “The dream came true! I am very proud to be a member of the Metro Trains Melbourne family and I am going to do my very best towards making its values and behaviours my guide in work and in life.”
*Name and image have been changed to protect identity.
