Ima speaks a different language

Ima, DL Student and
Software Developer

Distance Learning student, Ima, arrived in Australia with her husband 4 years ago.  She's a Software Developer so she can speak computer languages.  She's currently working at Fairfax which is her second job in Australia.  ‘It is good to change jobs and move around in software development’, she says, ‘so you keep up to date with different technologies’.

Ima recently started writing web page articles: Instructions for Software Developers.  She says that to help those starting to learn software development, she is simplifying some of the processes she found difficult when she was learning software development in Iran. The editor of the website that has published her articles has given her very good feedback on the clarity and usefulness of her articles.

Ima has also commented on the lack of women in software development in Australia. ‘In Iran, around half the software developers were women, in Australia it is only about one tenth, and this is a shame.’ To help keep abreast with new innovations in software development, Ima belongs to a meet-up group for women software developers, where the group share new ideas and knowledge. Ima will be hosting a meet-up session at Fairfax in the next few weeks with a speaker from the successful Australian IT company, Atlassian, who will talk on the topic: assertiveness at work. Ima says that before coming to Australia she had heard that there was a lot of support for women here, but found this support concerns mainly health and medical issues and doesn’t extend to the workplace.

Ima started DL in Level 3 and has now almost finished her 510 AMEP hours with her teacher Heather from Navitas’s city college in Sydney.  She says DL has helped her a lot with her confidence and her technical and non-technical writing.  Her ambition is to set up her own company one day.

Check out Ima’s profile and web articles here but unless you too are a software developer don’t expect to understand them!

• Do you agree with Ima that women in Australia are under-represented or unsupported in certain jobs?
• Do you think there are jobs that are more suited to women than others and why?
• What is the longest time you stayed at a job?  How often should employees change jobs and why?

We like to hear your views - ADD YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!

White Ribbon Day - November 25th

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared November 25th the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the White Ribbon has become the symbol for that day.

The White Ribbon campaign aims to raise awareness among Australian men and boys about the roles they can play to prevent violence against women.  The campaign asks men to stand up, speak out and act to say no to men's violence against women.  Men and women across Australia are called to wear a white ribbon as a visual symbol of their commitment to this cause.

If you're a man and know about or witness violence against a woman, what would you do?

If you're a woman affected by domestic violence, what would you do?

Find help here or speak to one of our Pathways Advisors who can refer you to a local organisation that can assist you.  All information is confidential.

For more information about what domestic violence means, refer to the fact sheets

A more confident communicator

Shirisha  and her new baby

I came from India to Australia in February 2014 with my husband.  We started our married life here in Canberra.  At the beginning I was anxious about the accent of Australian people.  I was afraid to go to the shops alone.  I joined AMEP Distance Learning in September 2014 with my teacher, Erika.  She has always been very friendly with lots of patience.  She has helped me correct my mistakes and suggested ways to improve my vocabulary.

Towards the end of last year, I got a job in a childcare centre as an educator.  My confidence level improved as I was communicating with colleagues and children.  A few months later I fell pregnant.  This was the happiest time of my life.  During my pregnancy my DL course helped me a lot.  During the lessons we talked about the stages of pregnancy, the delivery, the different services that mothers can have.  It helped me to communicate with many people like midwives and doctors for all my appointments.  Everything went fine and I felt confident talking to them.  I gave birth to a baby boy 6 weeks ago.

• How has your life changed since you came to Australia?

• Change can be exciting and challenging at the same time.  How do you feel about your change now and how do you think you will feel about it in 5 years time?

If you or your partner is pregnant and need assistance with the language of childbirth ask your teacher for our special programs.

Winners are grinners!

Julian, DL teacher
celebrating Melbourne Cup win

As is the tradition in Australia, last Tuesday we celebrated Melbourne Cup day in our DL office in Sydney.  They say it's the race that stops the nation.  Although we were not as lucky as people in Victoria who enjoyed the day off as a public holiday, we still managed during our work day to have an office sweep where staff were able to bet on one or two of the horses in the race.

We watched the race together in anticipation wondering which of us would win a prize. The very lucky winner was our DL teacher, Julian, who emerged after teaching his DL lessons just in time to be told he'd won not only one but two prizes: 1st and 2nd, for the two horses he placed a bet on.

When asked how he felt about the win Julian said, "I was thrilled because I'd never won anything in my life apart from a chocolate wheel raffle at Guildford Primary School fete when I was a young boy.  Since then I haven't been so lucky.  In the previous two years, the horses I selected for Melbourne Cup unfortunately died after the race, so this win is a highlight for me."

We asked Julian what would he do with the money and he said, "I could go on a trip to Majorca in Spain or buy a new Ford Mustang but given that it was only $30 I gave it to my wife instead to pay the bills."

• What is special about this year's Melbourne Cup results?
• Have you ever won anything?
• What would you do if you won a million dollars?
• They say "you've got to be in it to win it". What are your thoughts on gambling?

Don't forget to share your answers or comments below.