Mohammad Ali Al Allaq is a GameChanger, with a streak of positive nihilism in his professional and personal life creating meaning every day in his role as an employment consultant at Busy At Work. He has a wealth of experiences he uses to connect with his clients and brings his unique worldview with him.
When we spoke with Mohammad he was brimming with positivity, experience, and a desire to connect. Born in Iran to Iraqi parents, Mohammad sought asylum in Australia as a very young man He began studying psychology and philosophy, following his passions he quickly understood the need to make money to support his lifestyle and dreams. He moved into construction and found his groove, rarely out of work and willing to drive site to site to ask for a job. Construction gave him financial freedom, a new sense of self, and a boost of self-confidence.
He was studying a Diploma in construction before his career took a radical shift. After a workplace injury in the construction industry and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mohammad shifted direction again. With no previous experience in the employment sector, Busy At Work hired Mohammad as an employment consultant. He knows firsthand the struggles young people face in the employment sector and is learning every day from his clients, adapting to the changing landscape.
Mohammad has been connecting young people to employment and support services since joining Busy At Work in 2022. Connecting with people in Arabic, Dari, and English he has been valuable in improving the jobseeker experience in Dandenong, especially for young people. He connects with his clients through his own lived experience with mental health, job insecurity, and the complexity of migrant work rights. Mohammad describes connecting with some clients as bringing tears of joy, and he reflects on how, while he sees his clients with needs beyond just employment, for him, employment has been crucial in improving his life.
Becoming involved with GameChange was a simple meeting invitation, forwarded by his manager, who knew just how valuable Mohammad’s contribution would be. Mohammad has been passionately invested ever since. He describes it as “a group of passionate people not concerned with their organisation's KPIs, but just concentrated on improving outcomes for the community”.
A dedicated collaborator, he is currently working alongside his fellow Central Employment Hub Priority Action Group (PAG) members, bringing his positive attitude and unique perspective. They are developing a model for a central connection point for job seekers, employers, and wrap-around services.
It's hard to pinpoint which of the GameChange principles Mohammad embodies the most but he has an excellent example for demonstrating the need for collaboration - “I see it that we (the employment community) are like a paint crew working different shifts, if we communicate and collaborate, we will have the job finished in a week – if we don’t, we will be painting the same corner over and over again.”
The GameChange principle of “Fuelled by Learning” has been instrumental to Mohammad’s contribution to the Central Employment Hub. He fondly talks about the lesson from another PAG member who was not seeking perfection but seeking a start. The first pop-up for the Central Employment Hub was located at the Dandenong Library, and Mohammad was able to successfully link two young men to paid work through this pop-up.
We could sit around for years talking about what should or could happen, but we needed to get a prototype to market”
Mohammad doesn’t want the employment hub to be based on assumptions, rather, based on the lessons from the users and the data gathered. He is not waiting for perfection; he is jumping at the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and be led by community.