Yusuf Mohamed is an entrepreneurial 20-year-old living in Melbourne’s western suburbs. He has recently started a small online grooming products business called VIP Men's Grooming.
But Yusuf has not worked properly since finishing school last year and his financial struggle now threatens to stall his business before it even gets off the ground.
“I've been looking for work since December and I found it really hard because during COVID so many businesses were shut down," he said.
“My biggest fear is if I don't find work, this business won’t launch as I had hoped.”
Yusuf migrated to Australia in 2011 from Jijiga, a city in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. He was 10 years old.
Yusuf spent his childhood in Ethiopia. Source: Supplied
He is now among thousands of young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds struggling to survive financially in Melbourne.
Despite attending numerous interviews in retail and warehousing, Yusuf has been unsuccessful in finding work.
“Yusuf is trying really hard. He's sending in applications, attending interviews, but he's not really getting a response,” said Mallika Murthy, a support worker at the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY).
The not-for-profit organisation was founded 30 years ago to support young migrants. It now employs 135 staff and more than 850 volunteers, and operates in more than 50 languages.
CMY is soon to release a first-of-its-kind report on the predicted impact of COVID-19 on young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, specifically those who recently arrived in Victoria.
After interviewing 40 youth and multicultural sector leaders and 25 young migrants, it found that the pandemic has 'severely disrupted' the settlement experience for many.
“We are really concerned that this has reached a crisis point for this group in particular,” said CMY CEO Carmel Guerra.
“For these young people, the opportunity to get a first part-time job, and make those social networks needed in the first five years in Australia, has now gone.”
Ms Guerra’s family migrated to Australia from the Italian city of Naples in the 1950s. Growing up as the child of migrants and experiencing racism as a teenager, she said she understands how hard family resettlement can be.
CMY founding CEO Carmel Guerra. Source: Supplied
“What we found out from this report was actually quite disheartening.”
“The pandemic has made things worse. Their families want [young people] to earn an income, yet finding a job is really difficult in the current environment.”
Employment is the key issue facing almost half the interviewees (45 per cent) followed by education (41 per cent) and mental health concerns (23 per cent).
Australia’s overall unemployment rate has fallen to 5.1 per cent, but youth unemployment remains double the national average. While it has dropped five points since May 2020, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics unemployment figures list youth unemployment at 10.7 per cent.
Ms Guerra described the job market as "very competitive, with many young applicants for every job advertised".
Yusuf is trying to stay positive. Source: Scott Cardwell/SBS
“We have also heard stories where [young people] are working in unsafe environments, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and are too scared to speak up because they know that there are lots of others ready to take those jobs.
New arrivals with limited financial resources also face additional barriers.
“Many living on JobSeeker or Youth Allowance are really struggling to get food on the table,” Ms Guerra said.
“So finding the money to buy a bus ticket or the tools of the trade they need in this current environment is almost impossible, adding to the difficulty finding work.”
CMY is calling for a strategic approach through government policy to engage young people in work through job creation programs.
Yusuf with Marianna De Liseo, left, and Mallika Murthy from CMY. Source: SBS Scott Cardwell
“This pandemic has had an enormous effect on the settlement of refugee [and] migrant young people.
“The normal pathway from school to gaining skills and finding work has been disrupted to a point that we haven't seen before.
“If we block this pathway, we are actually undermining a whole generation of young people who want to contribute to this society.”
CMY assists young migrants with job applications and offers mentoring programs.
CMY offers mentoring programs. Source: SBS Scott Cardwell
As Yusuf tries to build up his online business and find work, he says he tries to stay positive by working out with friends and volunteering with CMY.
“Feeling like an outcast, CMY has really helped me to feel like [I am part of] a community, and in a family. So it's been quite a blessing.”
Readers seeking support with mental health can contact on 1300 22 4636 and on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
