The Skilled Migrants have officially graduated from the Skilled Migrant Programme! The programme is a unique partnership between Rotary Club, Victoria University and The Johnson Group, that helps unemployed and underemployed migrants gain New Zealand work place experience in their areas of professional expertise. Everyone from The Johnson Group has loved working with this year's skilled migrants, and we're all eager to follow their progress in the workplace.

Ardi, one of the skilled migrants from the 2009 intake, made a fantastic speech at graduation, and he's been kind enough to let us publish it to our blog.

Ardi's graduation speech

Good evening everyone,

Tonight marks another memorable milestone in our life as a skilled migrant and as we celebrate this heart pounding moment "There is a good reason… for this ceremony because… graduation is not the end, [rather] it's the beginning" of our next journey.

Our class is composed of ten skilled professionals from China,
Russia, Poland, and the Philippines with a distinct training and experiences ranging from IT, Accounting, Administration, Tourism, Marketing, and Business Management.

My name is Rodolfo (Ardi) Divino. And it is an honor to be chosen by my classmates to be the graduation speaker to express our deepest gratitude- to Victoria University especially to our ever patient, understanding, and supportive teacher Nicky, to Angela our Programme Director and to Judi and Glenda our workplace consultants.

To Kirsty and Melissa of The Johnson Group who worked tirelessly to find our internships. To the many Rotary Club of Wellington members and other volunteers who patiently trained us for employment interviews and likewise to our guest speakers who introduced us to NZ life and culture.

To our workplace managers and mentors, who supported us during our internship. To our job mentors from the Rotary Club who will accompany us in our job search. To our respective families who have supported us.

On behalf of my class, I would like to say thank you all very… much.

It has been a privilege to be chosen to be part of this programme.

No one can exactly tell the profound positive impact of this course both mentally and emotionally, except those who were the product of this programme: i.e. us. This course has helped us in many ways. It has helped us to interpret NZ English.

For example, a skilled migrant working in a coffee shop received an order from a customer: “Tea for two please.”

She replied, “Ah yes, two for one tea.”

The customer said: “No, its tea for two.”

“Oh, yes, it’s two teas for two. Sorry.”

For her at that time, it was all the same. Now she is a proud member of the graduating group. Another example is, a young man fills out an application for a job and does well until he gets to the last question, "Who Should we notify in case of an accident?"

He mulled it over and then writes, "Anybody in sight!"

I believe he should take this course.

The language learning in our class has been reinforced by our workplace experience that affected the development of our NZ pragmatic awareness immensely. Now we feel more confident with our pragmatic competence.

My classmate Ben described reflectively his experience with the course, he said: "I was like a shabby second hand car before I attended this course. After 12 weeks, I have been repaint[ed], decorat[ed] by a mechanic (Nicky). Now I am like a brand new car, and ready to be put on the market /at a [competitive] price."

To my classmates this is the end and a beginning. The end of our course and the beginning of a new chapter. “What we are now is Victoria University’s gift to us… We will be very busy applying and filling out application forms.

Let’s continue dreaming for “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Along the way of our search “if opportunity doesn't knock, [we must] build a door.”

My dear friends, “you and I will meet again, when we're least expecting it, one day maybe in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friends, for you and I will meet again.”

Can I say again on behalf of my classmates – thank you to everyone who has helped us on our journey over the last three months. We will not forget your support and we will remember you always wherever we are because “…what we become/ are our gift to this University”.

Thank you.

Quotes and references:
I couldn't get the quotes to look right on the blog, but here is the list of them as they appear in the speech, in order:
* Orrin Grant Hatch is a Republican United States Senator from Utah. Retrieved 16/06/09, from http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/orrin_hatch/
* Work experience anecdote of Elena Jackson (batch __ ’09) Skilled Migrant Communication Programme
* ibid, Hatch O.
* Excerpt from Ben Wang’s reflection journal (batch __ ’09) Skilled Migrant Communication Programme
* Eleanor Torrey Powell an American film actress and dancer of the 1930s and 1940s (1912 - 1982).
* Eleanor Roosevelt (Diplomat, Humanitarian and First Lady (1933 - 45). Retrieved 12/06/09, from http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/eleanor_roosevelt/
* Berle Milton. Retrieved 12/06/09, from http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/berle_milton/
* Thomas Earl Petty an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and voice actor. Retrieved 12/06/09, from http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/tom_petty/
* ibid, Powell E.