HIGHLIGHTS:
- Martha Gebre arrived in Australia in 2022 on a spouse visa and found an engineering job within two months.
- Australia is considered a difficult job market for migrants with overseas qualifications that are not locally recognised.
- According research, the local job market is particularly hard on migrant and refugee women.
Nine months ago, Martha Gebre arrived in Melbourne on a spouse visa and faced the daunting task of finding a job as an engineer.
She may be amongst a handful of migrants from non-English speaking countries to find a suitable job within months of arriving in Australia.
Ms Gebre had heard how migrants with skills that may not be on Australia’s Shortage Occupation List, may be in for a Herculean task while finding a job that aligns with their expertise.
Martha Gebre graduated from Addis Ababa University in 2016. Credit: MA.Gebre
In 2017, after getting her first job, she met an Ethiopian-Australian whom she married in January 2022 and arrived in Melbourne in June that year.
As a migrant, she had also heard about the challenges professionals face while finding employment in Australia. Self-doubt began to find a home inside her.
A research by the Refugee Council of Australia states that migrant professional women, in particular, often face discrimination due to the lack of recognition of overseas qualifications and experience, cultural differences and limited networking opportunities.
Despite this, Ms Gebre remained determined and was willing to do any job.
Her husband, however, encouraged her to keep up with her career as an engineer and not give up on her dreams. This support proved to be crucial to her success.
My husband is a blessing in my life, and I thank God for him.MARTHA GEBRE
Pictures from the wedding of Martha Gebre and Mezmur Achenefe Alemu. Credit: Alemu and Gebre
Before she arrived in Melbourne, she thought Australia weather would be hotter than Ethiopia's.
The opportunity came through a job agency, and she was surprised to find herself employed in her field just two months after arriving in Melbourne.
I wasn’t expecting to get a job as an engineer so soon in Australia.
She had also heard that Australia was a hot country.
Before she arrived Down Under, she thought Melbourne would be hotter than Ethiopia.
Melburnians should stop complaining about the weather; it’s not bad.
After five years of academic pursuits in engineering, she graduated with a Construction Management degree from Addis Ababa University in 2016.
She was told at university that there was a high demand for engineers like her. But in the real world, it wasn’t easy.
It took her a year to get her first job as an engineer in Ethiopia.
MS Gebre laughs as she recalls that experience.
“It was scary. Even though I had an office job, visiting construction sites was also part of my duties.
“I remember one day because the company could not pay the workers’ wages, my colleagues and I were surrounded by angry unpaid workers who held sticks and demanded payment immediately.
The engineer at work. Credit: SBS Amharic
She says she is indebted to her brother for his career guidance.
“My brother, an artist, is my mentor.
“He helped and guided me to achieve excellent results in my school years. Because of my academic results, he wanted me to become a doctor.
“Paradoxically, I love his beautiful artistic drawings and was influenced by them. I decided to become an engineer because I love drawings and also because of my dad’s admiration for female engineers,” Ms Gebre tells SBS Amharic.
She hopes to be a positive role model for her community, inspiring other women to pursue their dreams and establish themselves as professionals.
Ms Gebre’s says her journey exemplifies the importance of preserving, determination and the support of loved ones.
She inspires others to follow in her footsteps.
Don’t give up on your career. You can do it.
Ms Gebre is already dreaming of advancing to a senior position within her organisation.
Now, she envisions a happy life with her husband in Australia and possibly starting a family someday.
