How Viet Thu refined her customer service skills and found success at work  

Viet Thu loves to work, loves to study and loves being a mum to two young children. Thanks to her Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) training at the Navitas Skilled Futures (NSF) colleges at Bankstown and at Cabramatta, she has found a way to do all three. 

Preparing for life in Australia

“My story in Australia starts in 2018,” said Viet Thu. “Before that I worked in administration at Dong A University in Vietnam.”  

Her husband found work and left for Australia, leaving Viet Thu in Vietnam to prepare to move to a new country and her new life. In her online searches, she came across Navitas Skilled Futures’ (NSF) website and realised she could enrol for free English lessons through the AMEP. She was also excited to learn that she would be able to place her baby in free childcare on offer to NSF’s AMEP clients. The AMEP is funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. 

Viet Thu’s first steps to NSF

When she arrived in Australia, she knew exactly what her first steps would be. “I took my baby to NSF straight away,” said Viet Thu. She describes those first English lessons as ‘joyful’. “Every day we went to class, we enjoyed it,” remembered Viet Thu. “Today I still keep in touch with my classmates.”  

““I love the teamwork. I’ve made friends with my colleagues, we share food, and they visit at my house.” 

Viet Thu, AMEP Cabramatta client

Soon after finishing her initial English language course, she participated in the Pathways to Customer Service course also held at NSF. This is part of the AMEP under the Settlement Language Pathways to Employment and Training (SLPET) sub-program, which provides students with employment-focused learning designed around meeting their needs and goals. This course increased Viet Thu’s knowledge of Australian workplaces and built her confidence in speaking and writing English. “We role-played situations,” recalled Viet Thu. “I learned about how to be polite to customers, as well as colleagues and those around me.”  

She also remembers the work experience that was part of the course. One particular lesson she learned at a large haberdashery store stays in her mind.

“I was polite to customers but forgot to treat my colleagues the same way. Once I shouted to my colleague Mary across the shop, ‘This woman wants to buy something I don’t know!’ After serving the customer, Mary kindly reminded me not to yell at colleagues or point at customers. I felt embarrassed but later thanked her because it was an important lesson,” remembered Viet Thu. 

Using her customer service skills to prepare for employment 

Having built her customer service skills and confidence, Viet Thu was ready to find work. Knowing she needed to work part-time close to home because of her young daughter, Viet Thu wrote to all the aged care homes in her neighbourhood, sending them the resume her NSF teacher helped her prepare. When one of them reached out to her for an interview, she was ready and got the job. 

It’s work she loves, and the part-time role means she still has plenty of time for her family. “I love the teamwork,” said Viet Thu. “I’ve made friends with my colleagues, we share food, and they visit at my house.” 

English skills help in difficult times 

Viet Thu credits her English skills and the kindness of her employers for helping her family through a particularly difficult time when they were told they needed to move from their apartment with very little notice. “I was able to explain the problem to my employers in English,” said Viet Thu. “They let us live in accommodation at my work, until we found a new place to live.” 

Viet Thu is also continuing to study two days a week at NSF’s Cabramatta college to improve her English skills even more. She is also studying for the Certificate IV in Aging Support so she can move to new roles at work. Eventually she would like to become an enrolled nurse. One day she also hopes to run her own chicken rice food truck!

Although she has two very different dreams, Viet Thu is not worried about how she will achieve them. Along with hard work, and devotion to her family, she has a positive outlook on how things will turn out.  “I believe my future will show me the way.” 

Find out more about the Adult Migrant English Program at Navitas Skilled Futures by calling 1300 798 111.