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Governments urged to let asylum seekers study at TAFE

Kon Karapanagiotidis said asylum seekers need to get a fair go.

Kon Karapanagiotidis said asylum seekers need to get a fair go. Photo: ABC

Asylum seeker advocates have urged state and territory governments to follow Victoria’s lead in opening up TAFE places for asylum seekers to study.

The Andrews Government has announced funding of $15 million over two years for 3,000 people on temporary protection visas to study in areas lacking skilled workers, such as hospitality and aged care.

The program will also be open to refugees with temporary residence for study at TAFE and with private training providers.

Victoria has the most asylum seekers in Australia with a population of about 11,000 compared to about 25,000 nationally.

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis said beyond access to Medicare and work rights, asylum seekers living in Australia have few entitlements.

“Without access to education and training and those pathways, it’s almost impossible for people to survive,” he said.

“They get trapped in a cycle of poverty, homelessness and destitution, so those pathways are life changing and lifesaving.”

Mr Karapanagiotidis said Victoria was the only state where asylum seekers could access TAFE and other jurisdictions must follow suit.

“People seeking asylum don’t want charity, they just want to contribute, work hard and put food on the table,” he said.

“So what I would love to see are simply pathways and a fair go.”

Existing training program a big success

The Victorian Government has until now funded 300 training places for asylum seekers, but the Skills Minister Steve Herbert said the latest expansion was massive.

“It’s not in anyone’s interests for these people to be simply sitting around being unproductive,” he said.

“This will provide them with the opportunity to get proper training, proper skills and play their part in the Victorian workforce.”

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre will help to oversee the expanded program and run workshops in regional areas to help training providers support the students.

Mr Karapanagiotidis said the existing training program had already been incredibly successful.

“We’ve placed 751 people into TAFE and of that 92 per cent have successfully completed it.”

“That’s your highest success rate for any community, Australian citizen or refugee going around.”

Ticket to a better life

Asylum seeker Hussein fled Afghanistan to escape war and persecution of the country’s Hazara ethnic minority.

He is still at school in Melbourne but said further education would be his ticket to a better life.

“I want to be a social worker so I need higher education for that as well. It’s totally important so I can make positive change in Australia.”

— ABC

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