After a landmark deal in 2014 which created a direct labour agreement with the Australian government to sponsor 20 Greek nationals per annum, Fronditha Care held a recruitment conference in Greece last week.
The existing agreement with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection allows Fronditha Care to sponsor people qualified in nursing and aged care, and when a rare opportunity presented itself, CEO George Lekakis told Neos Kosmos the community care organisation took advantage of direct links to hold a conference in the Greek capital.
“We took the opportunity to host a seminar in Athens to raise further awareness of the labour agreement provisions that we have and the need to recruit future personal care workers on a 457 visa at Fronditha Care,” he said.
“This once-off seminar was hosted by one of our HR officers, Yiannis Androulakis, who was in Greece for personal holiday reasons, but I wanted him to use the opportunity to spread the word and to recruit future employees for our wonderful organisation.”
The event, advertised via student recruitment networks, was hailed a success, with large numbers pouring into the Royal Olympic Hotel in Athens, many of whom, he said, have made further enquiries into prospective employment.
“A lot of people in the networks now know of the availability of this 457 visa and people are referred appropriately. People make direct contact through us and also look out our website for necessary information and follow the appropriate steps, which are what steps one needs to take in order to qualify for employment, and also the recruitment processes as well.”
Along with the conference, Fronditha Care is also appealing to people locally who are keen to work in personal care and can comfortably speak Greek.