| ARRIVALS by Bruce Miller This is a very small cross section of people who have moved here from overseas to work and call the Gold Coast home. Their brief stories here focus on their careers rather than their home or community life. Everyone has their own story. For some it is a continuing sense of life’s adventure, others come to improve their or their family’s chances in life, others come here through tragic events beyond their control. Often they are skilled and articulate in their own country but have to retrain here.When they come to an employer with no real work history in Australia and an accent, many employers seem to find it all too hard. They don’t realise the quality of the employee they are passing up.Many migrants tell of discrimination in the workplace, sometimes a ceiling to their career path.New arrivals here often find their lives taking unexpected paths. Many find that here they are free of family and community expectations and can branch into new areas and develop new careers, which they could often never do at home. They have confronted change and uncertainty in their lives and have great determination and character, a solid work ethic and a grasp of the potential that exists here that many of us take for granted.They all recognise the great lifestyle, freedoms and opportunities that they have in Australia and particularly on the Gold Coast and they are making a huge contribution to the community and economy.Produced with the aid of a grant from The Gambling Community Benefit Fund, this project’s aim is to raise the community and employer understanding of migrant workers and to produce a resource directory to aid new arrivals in all aspects of settling here and finding work. I have found these people’s stories and their energy and determination to be an inspiration. I hope this project is useful as a resource and that the stories presented here provide hope and inspiration to others. Start your journey HERE, or click on each portrait
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