International student safety a priority: Melbourne’s business leaders to address safety awareness [07.05.2010]
Melbourne’s business and education community will form a working party to develop standards and an employer pledge to assist employers to provide cultural and safety information to shift workers new to Melbourne.
“There is growing concern among the community about violence against international students. Together the Committee for Melbourne and VECCI believe that employers of students may assist in provision of cultural norms, advice and strategies on how to stay safe,” says Committee for Melbourne CEO, Mr Andrew MacLeod.
The voluntary program, to be developed by the Committee for Melbourne and VECCI, will be focused on employers of international students working to address safety issues in employees’ travel to and from work. The program aims to ensure that new arrivals minimise their inadvertent exposure to risk through lack of knowledge around safety and security norms in Australia.
“Employers want their employees to be safe and are looking for ways to implement cultural awareness training as part of their induction activities for employees who are not familiar with Melbourne,” says VECCI CEO, Mr Wayne Kayler-Thomson.
A workshop for key employers and education providers was held on 5 May 2010 to discuss the framework for the program, and identify ways for business to incorporate it into induction strategies at little or no cost.
Businesses and organisations that participated on the day include: 7-Eleven, 13 CABS, Hungry Jacks, Woolworths, University of Melbourne, Yarra Trams, Swinburne University and Holmes Colleges. The Victorian Taxi Directorate was also represented.
“The key to the success of this project is encouraging businesses to take up such a program in a voluntary capacity rather than hitting business with more regulation and red tape. In an era of persistent skills shortages and a strong desire for many businesses to be seen as an employer of choice, we believe that a voluntary program would be popular among business,” says Mr Kayler-Thomson.
The working party will convene in the coming weeks, and from there, seek to create practical measures to assist employers and education providers better inform international students of safety and cultural awareness issues.