Recognising the advantages of cultural diversity in small business

ENCOURAGING small business to employ culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people will be the topic of tomorrow’s Education and Employment Committee public hearing.

The committee will meet with the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia (FECCA) to discuss the challenges that CALD people face when seeking employment – challenges such as prejudice, language and skills recognition. 

Advice on how small businesses can be encouraged to benefit from the range of unique skills and experience that CALD people can bring to the workplace will also be discussed along with improvements to existing workplace policies and practices.

Committee Chair, Ewen Jones MP, said CALD people have a range of positive attributes and skills that often remain unrecognised to potential employers.

“Encouraging businesses to recognise the advantages of employing CALD people would benefit the wider community and help to boost employment for this group,” he said.

Details of the hearing are as follows:

Date: Wednesday 17 June 2015
Time: 11:20 am – 12:45 pm
Venue: Committee Room 1R4, Parliament House, Canberra

Submissions to this inquiry are also welcome. For further information, including the full terms of reference and how to prepare a submission, please visit the committee’s website at www.aph.gov.au/SmallBusinessEmployment or contact the secretariat on (02) 6277 4573.

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