Work Ready, run through Gateway Health, is a series of workshops aiming to assist Border refugees and migrants to become more employable in their new country.

Twenty people with backgrounds that include the Philippines, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Congo have enrolled for the weekly sessions, which begin on Friday.

Vijay Kuttappan, one of the organisers, said after “testing the water” with the inaugural program, the workshops would continue to focus on job search skills like writing a resume, interviews and networking.

Deepshree Dhar, originally from India, and Durga Guragai (Bhutan) took part in Work Ready last year and said it helped them understand the Border job market.

Mrs Dhar, who now works in retail and administration, said the program provided a platform to increased confidence and contacts.

“I was new to this city that time and it gave me a lot of exposure about how jobs work here, how interviews take place,” she said.

“Once you come out of your comfort zone, you talk to people, you know what are their expectations, how business works here.”

Mr Guragai, now a taxi driver, said the mock interviews were particularly useful.

“How to attend that interview, that is most important; otherwise we’re lost here in new area, new country, everything new,” he said.

A 2017 participant Shah T. Ahmed worked for many years in community service in his native Bangladesh.

“I have applied for lots of jobs, but responses, I’m getting very few,” he said.

“So I think this opportunity can help me with how to prepare myself, how to prepare my documents and how to communicate.”

Mr Kuttappan said Work Ready played a part in Gateway Health winning a Victorian Multicultural Commission award last year.

The scheme also encouraged people to gain initial experience through voluntary work.

“Most of them said to me, ‘We speak with an accent’ and I say, ‘I speak with an accent’,” Mr Kuttappan said.

“As long as you speak clearly and write clearly, that shouldn’t be an issue, so that gives them confidence.”