NSF wins 2023 NSW Premier’s Award for ‘outstanding achievements’

Navitas Skilled Futures is thrilled to have received the prestigious NSW Premier’s Multicultural Community Medal for a third year.

The Corporate Business Excellence Medal, presented at the NSW Premier’s Harmony Dinner on Thursday 23 February, recognises the outstanding achievements of a business in creating employment and other opportunities, which value and promote diversity and inclusion.

General Manager, Jetinder Macfarlane, who received the award last night from Minister for Multiculturalism, Mark Coure, says it is a great honour to be acknowledged for the continued success of Navitas Skilled Futures three years in a row.

“This award really is a testament to the great work being done in our organisation every day with migrants (newcomers) and refugees who are seeing genuine benefits from high-quality training in language, literacy, numeracy, digital (LLND) and employability skills,” Jetinder said.

“Last year Navitas Skilled Futures supported almost 6000 students from more than 140 diverse language groups through education programs, employment opportunities and community connections. This included a significant number of Afghan evacuees, whom we have assisted through our own resources and close community connections, helping ease their settlement in Australia. 

“People come to us from a wide variety of backgrounds, with many transferrable skills, but also a range of challenges, abilities and needs. It is our privilege to be able to work with them to understand their individual needs and be able to help each person on their personal journey, to enable them to live their best life in Australia.”

In 2022 the support provided by Navitas Skilled Futures included:

• award-winning innovative and collaborative projects, such as Digital Skills for Women;
• collaborations with like-minded organisations, including SBS and WIRES;
• community partnerships, including English for Driving and English for Sewing;
• ground-breaking initiatives, like our Ask the Expert community forums;
• collaborative events, such as the Mental Health Expo and Law Expo; and
• pathway support, with beneficial employment opportunities and outcomes within our communities.

Executive General Manager, Michael Cox, says we are proud and privileged to receive this recognition in 2023, which not only marks 75 years of the Australian Government’s Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), but also 25 years of the program’s delivery at Navitas Skilled Futures.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes at Navitas Skilled Futures in the past 25 years, as we’ve continually worked with the Australian Government on our AMEP delivery to ensure our clients benefit from innovative learning approaches,” he said.

“While our AMEP and associated initiatives and partnerships continue to deliver strong outcomes, our strongest assets are still our staff, who provide a welcoming, positive environment that helps people feel safe and respected so they can grow in skills and confidence.

“This award is gratefully received and belongs to all the Navitas Skilled Futures staff, many of whom have been on their own settlement journeys, and who remain committed to supporting students and empowering them to transform their lives.”

“Our staff, and organisation as a whole, regularly collaborates with other organisations to bring the best possible experiences together for migrant and refugee arrivals, to meet their needs and goals.”

The NSW Premier’s Multicultural Community Medals are considered a highlight of the annual Premier’s Harmony Dinner, which celebrates the diverse cultures, languages and walks of life of all citizens in NSW, ahead of Harmony Week March 20-26.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet congratulated the individuals and organisations recognised with awards for their commitment to supporting the State’s multicultural communities.

“This gathering draws an array of extraordinary people who have often given their all to support their community, and in turn have helped make the whole state stronger,” he said.

“It is inspiring to hear the stories of their exceptional and lasting contributions.”

The event was held at the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour, Sydney.

The full list of winners can be found here.