by Sahar Foladi
SisterWorks has opened its Sustainable Production Hub door in Springvale expanding on its women empowerment mission.
The not-for-profit social enterprise’s manufacturing hub will employ 50 women from the City of Greater Dandenong.
The new facility will provide women of refugee, asylum seeker and migrant backgrounds an opportunity to work to assemble, pack, repurpose unwanted materials, upcycle and equipment repairs.
An emotional chief executive officer Ifrin Fittock thanked Greater Dandenong Council and her board members for their immense support in securing the hub at its opening on Friday 21 June.
“We are very excited because we know we can make a difference in this area and we know we have so many motivated sisters who we can support and are in need of the employment.
“So, this hub is not just part of employment but it’s also the first working experience place for some of the women and those who’ve never worked in Australia before.”
This expansion is funded by the pioneering Work Integration Social Enterprise (WISE) grant program managed by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation as part of an innovative collaboration, which will significantly increase SisterWorks’ production capacity.
“As a not-for-profit social enterprise the investment money is always a challenge because we can’t go to the bank and ask to borrow money,” Ms Fittock said.
“But we’re very grateful for the financial supports from the philanthropy world where we’re being supported.
“The WISE grant allowed us to take the risk and actually secure this space. It doesn’t cover all costs, but it gives us a stronger foundation besides our spending to invest.”
SisterWorks also has a Brick and Motor hub in Dandenong – an “empowerment hub” mainly used to train women about occupational health and safety, work contract systems, FairWork and other necessary trainings required to fully equip them when they join the workforce.
Depending on their progress, the women are then transferred to the Springvale hub for a hands-on experience as a SisterWorks employee.
Winnie has been with SisterWorks for two years and joined the newly opened hub in Springvale.
“Sometimes we are very busy working on tight deadlines to get the orders done out of here towards their destination.
“Right now, we’re working on face masks for firefighters which will also be shipped out.
“But I like it here. I get to meet different people from different parts of the world.
“You hear a lot of refugee stories and it’s an eye-opener for me.
“I meet a lot of people here whose English is not very good but they’re trying.”
For the women with SisterWorks and working at the hub, this is not just an employment hub or a pathway to get into the mainstream workforce, according to Ms Fittock. It’s a whole community.
“In this hub we have lunch together like a communal lunch and that’s the best part of the day where the sisters get to know each other and the volunteers.
“They’ve become friends and talk about anything and everything about the things they don’t often have the opportunity to speak about either at home or within their community,” she said.
“We want that to be the main feature of what SisterWorks is about apart from the training and other supports.”
Greater Dandenong mayor Lana Formoso, deputy mayor Richard Lim and Bruce MP Julian Hill as guest speakers were all very proud of the works of SisterWorks and the impact of the hub in the lives of the women and the wider community.
Cr Formoso, born in Springvale, told the crowd of how these opportunities weren’t available to her mother who migrated to Australia at the age of 17, without a single word of English and with two suitcases.
“I feel honoured to represent the most multicultural city in Australia.
“This is an ideal area to provide programs, entrepreneurship, and employment opportunities to help women develop skills, confidence and connections.
“My mum didn’t have those opportunities when she first arrived so that’s why SisterWorks is so integral in our society,” she said.
“The mission to economically empower women from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds through employment at this hub aligns with City of Greater Dandenong values in supporting and enhancing our community.”
SisterWorks has been actively engaged in Circular Economy Projects since 2020, exemplified by their successful ‘Banners to Bags’ project with the City of Melbourne. This commitment to minimising environmental impact is a core part of their mission, as evidenced by their focus on designing and manufacturing products from donated materials.
The emphasis on environmental sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has attracted key partners such as Yarra Trams and Toyota.
At the new hub, Yarra Trams is utilising SisterWorks capabilities for upholstering tram seats, upcycling discarded materials and manufacturing bespoke tram components.
Chief executive officer at Yarra Trams, Carla Purcell says they are very excited about the ongoing partnership.
“This opportunity will make SisterWorks a rail-ready supplier capable of manufacturing rail parts to quality and safety standards integral to the industry while also delivering social value through women’s economic empowerment to the Victorian community.
“We see the amazing value SisterWorks will bring to the rail industry.”
The not-for-profit is now focused on maintaining the hub and attracting business partners to fill in a lot of the empty spaces within the hub before they can create another hub in the South East.
