By Danielle Kutchel
Ashir Ahmed is on a mission to bring knowledge to everyone in the community.
His new job preparedness program is smashing through the financial, social, cultural or geographical constraints that might hold some people back.
The Casey resident was struck with the idea after speaking with an acquaintance that was job hunting.
The acquaintance mentioned he had had his resume prepared by an external organisation, which had charged him $200 for a single printed copy.
“There was no soft copy provided and they did not teach him the skills to change it if required,” Mr Ahmed says.
“When I heard that, I said, ‘that’s not on’. I thought I should do something.”
Driven by that experience, Mr Ahmed began Pathway to Employment, offering short courses to people looking to upskill.
The courses cover basic to advanced levels of various skills, from job searching to preparing a resume and cover letter, to more advanced topics like data analytics and managing social impact projects.
The majority of the courses are held around Casey or Dandenong. Most are taught by Mr Ahmed himself, as well as volunteers drawn from his students at Swinburne, where he is a senior lecturer in media data analytics.
“If I can’t offer one on a certain topic, I have a few contacts and like-minded people who are willing to step up and contribute,” he says.
After researching other job-readiness programs available in the City of Casey and nearby areas he found a gap in the market, with competitors setting strict criteria as to who could participate, or offering generic content.
“I tried to tackle those problems,” he says.
Firstly, he offers an inclusive curriculum with personalised, customised programs designed specifically for participants.
Secondly, there is no financial, social or other criteria for people to fulfil to join the program.
In fact, Mr Ahmed doesn’t even charge a fee.
“There is a different model here, where people can pay as much as they like, if they like,” he explains.
He nominates a fee that people could contribute, however it is up to participants how much they put in, if anything. A donation box in the room invites contributions from participants.
Some of his connections doubted the sustainability of the project and urged Mr Ahmed to charge a mandatory fee for each course – but he resisted the pressure.
“I don’t want to do that. I want to do a social experiment. My philosophy is if I help people to learn something for free, hopefully they will teach someone else for free, whereas if I charge, they will see what the financial benefit is before offering expertise.
“It’s more about creating that environment where people are willing to help each other without worrying about the dollar thing. Financial is not the only return or benefit to doing something,” he says.
Currently, he has huge support from people who would love to volunteer, ensuring the viability of the program. He hopes to be able to find a way to pay his volunteers in future.
So far about eight sessions have been run, but the demand is there for more.
“The main objective is to give them some kind of new skill, and the ultimate objective is to help them get a job. Everything we’re offering is driven by that concept – to get a job or upskill,” he says.
More information can be found on Mr Ahmed’s website, www. ashirahmed.com.
