When John first finished his carpentry apprenticeship, he began thinking about what direction his career would take.

“Did I want to work for someone, or did I want to start my own business?”, he would ask himself.

At 25 years old, most people are still finding their feet and deciding on a profession. Gregory Armstrong is an exception. Greg is one of the trusted on-site supervisors at Devlin Mees builders, running his own crews and building specialist homes even at the proverbial beginning of his career.

Ashoup Atar is the CEO of Kowanj, a recruitment agency and training organisation that works with people from migrant backgrounds to help them find meaningful employment.

“The most rewarding part of my job is watching the journeys of migrant and refugee students and jobseekers, seeing how successful, hopeful, confident and independent they become through our extensive work with them,” Ash says.

Read on to learn how Kowanj and Builders Academy Australia are working together to break down barriers and get people into meaningful careers in the building and construction industry.