We are delighted to announce Sami Khan FIEP, Senior Manager at Westgate Community Initiatives Group (WCIG), is our 50th Fellow in IEP Australia!
Sami said he is looking forward to being part of this wonderful group of industry leaders and contributing further towards our sector.
“Being a Fellow of the IEP means to be able to work with industry leaders, to gain knowledge and experience, to be part of this selected group of leaders and to be able to contribute to this sector and develop and promote best practice.
“I believe the values and goals of the IEP align with my own and I have an opportunity to contribute further to achieve industry excellence.”
Sami arrived in Australia in 2005 and is part of the CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) community. He obtained an IT degree in 2008 and worked in sales and marketing for five years. Although Sami liked the social and collaborative aspects of the role, he always felt something was missing.
“When my daughter was born, I wanted to do something more meaningful and got my first role in employment services as a business development consultant,” Sami said. “I absolutely loved the role and the satisfaction of being able to help someone.”
Within 6 months Sami was promoted to the role of industry and client manager, working with major employers and stakeholders in various regions to build partnerships for AMES Australia.
“We worked closely with the CALD community, newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers providing a range of services including education, settlement and employment.”
Sami eventually became an Acting State Manager at AMES, working across 4 regions, 4 teams and a consortium of 3 partners. It was this role that taught him a lot about senior management and provided a broader picture of community services.
Next stop on Sami’s Employability Sector journey was as a Senior Program Manager at Youth Project, managing 4 programs (DES, JVES, TtW, EST and Here 4 Hospitality), which was an excellent opportunity to work closely with youth issues and concerns.
This experience has flowed into his current role at Senior Manager at WCIG, where his team are building initiatives and projects designed for youth.
“As a migrant to Australia and being part of the CALD community, this has been a journey of self-actualisation, learning and growth. I have been lucky to part of the industry where you are able give back to the community you are part of.”
The global IEP Fellowship is growing fast, with over 200 members proudly adorning the FIEP badge.
Further, we recently announced an exciting new event schedule at IEP Australia, including our new Global Fellows Collective, designed to bring together our Fellows and foster rich discussions on the most pressing issues affecting our sector.
Together, as a global Fellowship, we are stronger, more innovative, and more capable of driving positive change.