Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Kindness Shake Co-founder Ben Poveda-Alfonso has welcomed additional funding for the Skill Up 2 Scale Up Employability Program, which helps international students gain work in the NT

Transcript

Kindness Shake Co-founder Ben Poveda-Alfonso has welcomed additional funding for the Skill Up 2 Scale Up Employability Program, which helps international students gain work in the NT · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: And a raft of events and activities are being funded
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  Speaker 1: to strengthen international student well being as well as employability
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  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. Nineteen events and activities have received
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  Speaker 1: grants of ten thousand dollars from the Northern Territory Government
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  Speaker 1: aiming to strength and student well being, connections and employability.
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  Speaker 1: And one of those projects is the Skill Up to
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  Speaker 1: Scale Up Employability Program facilitated by the Kindness Shake and
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  Speaker 1: the Kindness Shake co founder and chair Ben Perveda Alfonso
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  Speaker 1: joins me on the line right now. Good morning, Ben, Good.
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  Speaker 2: Morning Katie to you and are your listener so good
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  Speaker 2: to be back?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, lovely to have you on the show. Ben. How
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  Speaker 1: does this Skill Up to Scale Up Employability program work?
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  Speaker 2: Katie? This is a problem that we've been running for
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  Speaker 2: the last three years and it's an opportunity to provide
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  Speaker 2: valuable professional development, enough skill in along with exposial to
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  Speaker 2: employment opportunities and netbooks for international students. Basically every semester
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  Speaker 2: we choose a topic. For example, last semester we chose it.
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  Speaker 2: We bring industry together, we bring education providers and other
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  Speaker 2: international student graduates who may have gone through the process.
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  Speaker 2: We have an opportunity for them to be on a
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  Speaker 2: panel where current international students get the opportunity to ask
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  Speaker 2: questions and get some feedback from them. Then at the
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  Speaker 2: end we do a bit of networking and hopefully facilitated
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  Speaker 2: an opportunity for a current and past international students to connect,
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  Speaker 2: but also to bring industry leaders to the table and
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  Speaker 2: assist international students to connect, but also to become more
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  Speaker 2: employable and.
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  Speaker 1: So ben How important is that grant funding that's been
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  Speaker 1: received and what exactly will that go towards?
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  Speaker 2: Okay, it is essential, It is so important, and it
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  Speaker 2: is we're very thankful with the Northern Territory government to
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  Speaker 2: continue to receive the support that we've been receiving since
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty. Basically, UH, the funding is to spain in
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  Speaker 2: things like when you hire or food, UH, gifts for
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  Speaker 2: the speakers, UH, whatever operational matters we need to organize
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  Speaker 2: through the through the funds, and obviously having an opportunity
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  Speaker 2: to be supported as a volunteer organization that everything that
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  Speaker 2: we do is in a volunteer basis is really important
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  Speaker 2: to continue to operate, especially in programs like this one
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  Speaker 2: that's been running for now such a long time that
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  Speaker 2: international and education providers are so aware of and to
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  Speaker 2: continue running them is really essential. So yeah, I think
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  Speaker 2: it's important and we're very thankful that we were one
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  Speaker 2: of the nineteen grand recipients to receive that.
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  Speaker 1: And then in terms of those that have taken part
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  Speaker 1: in the program in the past, what kind of things
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  Speaker 1: have they told you, you know, how has it benefited
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  Speaker 1: benefited them?
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  Speaker 2: We've received some incredible, incredible comments on feedback that is
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  Speaker 2: truly amazing, Katie, when you hear a students telling you, oh, guys,
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  Speaker 2: you changed my life after attending this event, I learned
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  Speaker 2: that I should do this, and then I did it,
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  Speaker 2: and then I got a job or telling us, oh,
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  Speaker 2: and after attending this event, I met with this industry
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  Speaker 2: leaser and then I'm having a coffee with them next week.
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  Speaker 2: And interestingly, Kry, for example, yesterday we were in a
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  Speaker 2: media event and someone asked that same question and then
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  Speaker 2: I told them, look, as long as we are able
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  Speaker 2: to They asked me how many international students we supported
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  Speaker 2: to get a job through it, and I told him, look,
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  Speaker 2: there is only so much that we can do. We
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  Speaker 2: connect the students in the industry, but that is also
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  Speaker 2: a followup process that they need to take, but I
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  Speaker 2: told them there is as long as we are able
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  Speaker 2: to support at least one international student to get a job,
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  Speaker 2: then that is already a win. And Demian Charles from NYC,
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  Speaker 2: one of the biggest I companies to step in to
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  Speaker 2: answer the question too, and he actually confirmed live that
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  Speaker 2: after attending the scale Up to Scale Up event on
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  Speaker 2: IT two weeks ago, he actually employed an international student
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  Speaker 2: from that event and that international student is starting at
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  Speaker 2: any seat today. Thanks, proud and so happy.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that is awesome, and it's great when you can
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  Speaker 1: sit like when you can actually see that kind of
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  Speaker 1: thing come to Fruition.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and that goes to show the importance of having
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  Speaker 2: opportunities for international students not just to connect and learn,
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  Speaker 2: but also an opportunity for them to create more chances
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  Speaker 2: for them to stay. Because I think it's really important
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  Speaker 2: to bring hundreds of international students and provided quality education
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  Speaker 2: and a great community. But at the end, what we
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  Speaker 2: also wanted for them to stay to be using the
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  Speaker 2: skills that they're learning that UNI to be able to
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  Speaker 2: contribute to the society. So programs like these are really helpful.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, they are so incredibly helpful and Ben, you know,
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  Speaker 1: we know it's been we know it's been a tough year.
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  Speaker 1: I know that you know that the has been a
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  Speaker 1: lot of sadness following on from the dates of Seafat
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  Speaker 1: and events like this and different initiatives to you know,
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  Speaker 1: to really strengthen our international student community and to keep
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  Speaker 1: everybody together, I would imagine is absolutely instrumental at the moment.
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  Speaker 2: One hundred percent KRY has been a pretty tough year,
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  Speaker 2: as you mentioned, and I guess it's really important to
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  Speaker 2: continue to see people talking about this topic, events and
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  Speaker 2: initiatives that bring international students together and the raise awareness
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  Speaker 2: about the challenges, but more importantly the opportunities that the
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  Speaker 2: territory has to offer. I think recently during interview him
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  Speaker 2: and our project manager for the Kindest Festival, Will who
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  Speaker 2: is leading the biggest event for international students in the territory,
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  Speaker 2: happening next Saturday on the twenty four of Juna the
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  Speaker 2: Darwin Water from four four pm. You know all about
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  Speaker 2: the festival and what we're planning to do in terms
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  Speaker 2: of performances from international students, exhibition stalls, food stalls and
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  Speaker 2: things like that which brings thousands of people to attend
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  Speaker 2: them and celebrate multiple journalism. But at the same time,
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  Speaker 2: we've actually partnered with the Bangladeshi Student Association and the
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  Speaker 2: community to honor see Ifad's life and name. UH. We
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  Speaker 2: we will be having a multicultural parade where we will
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  Speaker 2: be leading, where the Bangladesh community will will be leading UH.
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  Speaker 2: But also we will have a miner of silence and
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  Speaker 2: an opportunity to light candles at the lagoon on see
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  Speaker 2: if It's name. So this will be a really wonderful
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  Speaker 2: opportunity to remember that, to ensure that we continue to
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  Speaker 2: raise awareness that things need to happen still and that
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  Speaker 2: we honor his life in the best way that we
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  Speaker 2: can as an international student that is for and by
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  Speaker 2: international students organizations.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that's a real lovely thing to do
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  Speaker 1: and the right thing to do. And Ben, you know what,
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  Speaker 1: You've been such a champion for the Northern Territory over
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  Speaker 1: the years, and I know that what's unfolded over the
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  Speaker 1: last few months has been really hard on you, and
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  Speaker 1: I just want to say that keep doing what you do.
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  Speaker 1: You're a great bloke, You're a great ambassador for the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory, and continue, you know, to do what you
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  Speaker 1: are doing, but also to make sure that that change
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  Speaker 1: does come into ply.
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  Speaker 2: O Katie, I very much appreciate you you comment your
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  Speaker 2: thoughts during these difficult times. I always appreciate the opportunity
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  Speaker 2: to comment, talk about it, and for you to raise
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  Speaker 2: awareness and to help us put the message out there.
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  Speaker 2: It's been tough, but we know that there is a
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  Speaker 2: bright future hopefully, and we'll continue to fire and work
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  Speaker 2: really hard to make it happen. The territory needs more
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  Speaker 2: skilled people. The territory needs more international students, and we
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  Speaker 2: need our community where they can be supported and educated,
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  Speaker 2: but also they can be safe and where they have
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  Speaker 2: opportunities of employment and to stay here and do great
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  Speaker 2: things for our community.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you spot on well, Ben Perveda, Alphonso. It is
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  Speaker 1: always great to catch up with you, mate. I really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much for having
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  Speaker 1: a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks so much, Katy. So good to be back and
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  Speaker 2: I'll see you at the kind of the twenty four
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  Speaker 2: of you.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely, it sounds like it's going to be beautiful
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  Speaker 1: and a wonderful event has always been.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Katy, Thank you