Pei Pei
IT expert Pei Pei, 32, and his wife, Helen, migrated from China in 2007. Settling in a new country had its challenges. Although Pei Pei could read and write in English, he struggled to understand – and make himself understood – and was overwhelmed by the different, perplexing culture.
Soon after arriving, Pei Pei participated in a local employment project, where he met training and employment coordinator Eileen from the Brotherhood’s Group Training Company, which employs trainees and apprentices and places them with host organisations. Eileen recognised immediately that Pei Pei, while highly skilled, needed to improve his spoken English.
The Group Training Company took Pei Pei on as a trainee, arranging for him to undertake a Certificate III in Business Administration to complement his IT skills, in a course that emphasised conversation and verbal instruction to encourage his English. Eileen also found an IT work placement at his local council, Hobsons Bay.
Pei Pei started work, but discovered that when he spoke English he stuttered, which meant he wanted to avoid talking. He had never stuttered in China and had enjoyed making presentations to large groups.
Eileen supported him on the job and helped him to adjust to an Australian workplace, with its emphasis on teamwork and social interaction. She also made a point of communicating with him by phone, rather than email, to help him with his English.
The council gave Pei Pei – and the Brotherhood – positive feedback about his performance and work ethic, and hired him at the end of his traineeship. With the encouragement of his workmates and the Brotherhood, Pei Pei persisted with his English and his stutter is slowly diminishing.
Pei Pei says the Brotherhood’s training gives migrants a chance to ‘build a bridge’ to an employer. ‘In China, we have a saying: if you really want to help someone make a living, don’t give him money; teach him a skill.’