Tamana Mirzada is the Manager of our Employment Assistance Program at Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia. This program is a flagship program for JRS, and has supported over 500 migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum to up-skill and find meaningful employment in Australia.

For National Skills Week, Tamana shares with us her experience running this program and the lessons she has learned about the power of community, and the resilience of the people she serves.

Imagine you leave everything behind to come to a new country, and you have to learn about a different way of life, systems, language, and society without any guidance or resources.   

This is the reality for many refugees and people seeking asylum in our community.

At JRS Australia’s Employment Program, I work on providing pathways to meaningful employment and community connections. From providing support with the job searching process, to building relationships with employers, local businesses, training providers and community organisations avenues for development and self-reliance are established for the people we serve.  

Gina’s quote goes straight to the heart of why I do my work: to build a sense of community for those who can often feel isolated and overwhelmed when beginning their life in Australia – especially when they’re looking for work. I want refugees and people seeking asylum to feel safe, empowered and capable when starting their employment journey.  

So, how do we do that? Accompaniment. 

Accompaniment is one of our core values at JRS, which we use to guide our work supporting newly arrived communities in Australia.  For us, accompaniment means walking with people through the long and uncertain journey to safety and permanence in Australia. We recognise and acknowledge their humanity, a collective human condition that is often overlooked in refugees by the people, institutions and policies they encounter as they progress on their journeys.  

The Digital Sisters Project we have been running over the last few months is an important example of this value in action at JRS. 

Digital Sisters Project

Since the beginning of this year, our Employment Program has been delivering a series of computer classes to equip women of asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant backgrounds with more advanced digital literacy skills.  

This “Digital Sisters” project, funded by Good Things Foundation Australia, paired digital mentors from the community with participants in need of digital literacy training. Women from all sorts of backgrounds joined us for these classes, with participants coming from Afghanistan, India, Iran, Malaysia, Sudan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Fiji, and Lebanon. 

In May 2025 we reached our project milestone, up-skilling 38 women, across arange of foundational digital skills, including basic computer use, web browsing and online safety, and practical tools within Google Workspace such as Sheets, Slides, and Gmail. Participants were also introduced to artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, engaged in typing practice and digital communication, and learned how to write simple, job-specific cover letters. 

These classes have not only built digital skills but also increased participants’ self-reliance and confidence as they are empowered to continue their employment journeys.

As one participant shared: “The classes have been helpful in gaining skills for independence.” 

After completing the training program each woman was provided with a certificate of completion and a refurbished digital device, generously provided by our amazing partner, The Reconnect Project, to support their continued learning and digital connection.  

The impact from the training on our participants has been extraordinary.

One woman from our earlier session in February has found work as a digital lead and currently supports seniors in the community with their own digital skills learning.

This shows me that it’s all about community! The transfer of knowledge and skills through our program has not only led to employment for a person seeking asylum, but a valuable opportunity to give back and contribute to the Australian community. I know this is a sincere wish of all the women who come through our doors. 

Other participants from the program have also found employment, have had their confidence increased, and are motivation to engage in further up-skilling and vocational training! And in this way the snowball effect continues: sometimes all people need is a helping hand and they will be able to thrive, grow and give back to the community. This is a story I have seen time and time again. 

How it started: a digital barrier becomes a bridge 

I joined JRS in 2021, when we were all impacted by the lockdown – particularly here in Western Sydney. This time of isolation and disconnection was felt across the world, and even more so by the people we serve. Our Employment program continued to deliver activities remotely over a 3-month period, but we were facing a major barrier: 80 percent of the people engaging with our employment program reported they had no access to technology. 

This made any form of remote participation or job searching a significant challenge. So, this is where our work to “Bridge the digital divide” started. We called upon our community to donate devices to enable participants to access our programs, and to stay connected to each other and the world during this period of isolation.  

We were so inspired by the generous parish, school, corporate and community groups that rallied together to donate laptops, iPads and even mobile phones.  

Since then, over 250 devices have been donated to participants in our programs and it’s my mission to keep this support coming for everyone who walks through our doors without access to a digital device! 

If you would like to bridge the digital divide and support refugees and people seeking asylum to access meaningful work in Australia – please consider donating a new or refurbished device to us. 

The digital journey is just beginning! 

A digital device enables people seeking asylum to get connected online – but that’s just the start. The people we serve still need support navigating barriers to employment in Australia. Our Employment Program provides training opportunities like the Digital Sisters Project, as well as ongoing coaching to pursue employment goals for refugees and people seeking asylum. Everyone’s journey varies and some may need more assistance than others, and we are committed to supporting them the whole way. 

I currently run our Employment Program (which has seen over 80 clients in training programs in the last year alone) by myself. I am a full-time staff member, and our fabulous Employment Officer Moh (read a reflection from Moh here) supports us two days a week. In addition, we have two employment volunteers who each work one day per week to assist with work-readiness programs that we run periodically throughout the year.  

The people we serve are so motivated to engage in meaningful work in Australia – but I am seeing the need for employment support and training grow exponentially as clients navigate language barriers, visa limitations, lack of skills recognition, as well as exploitation and discrimination in the workplace.

What you can do: 

There is not a single day when our small team is able to meet the full demand. We also receive no government funding for our work – so we’re asking for your help! 

• Donate directly to JRS Australia’s Employment Program – here.

• Bridge the Digital Divide: Send us your old devices so we can keep people seeking asylum connected on their employment journey. 

• Become an Employment Partner! Does your organisation want to learn about the benefits of employment refugees and people seeking asylum? Read our Employer Guide here and contact us if you would like to know more: employment@jrs.org.au 

• Stay Involved: there are lots of opportunities through the year to contribute to our work. To hear about upcoming events and initiatives, read stories, and learn about the impact of your support, please sign up to our monthly e-newsletter.