6 February 2020

Since moving from Russia to Australia to be with her husband, Kristina Martynova’s ambition to secure permanent work with Leda Ag quickly came to fruition after completing a Certificate III in Spoken and Written English with TAFE Digital.

A Mildura resident, Ms Martynova, said, “Shortly after landing in Australia, I saw an ad for a drafting assistant at Leda Ag, a leading Australian agricultural, industrial and manufacturing machinery provider, which I applied for and was fortunate to get the role initially for a probationary period.

“Although I was confident in my technical abilities because I’d worked in a similar field in Russia, I knew my level of English was not advanced enough for certain tasks, like communicating over the phone and even understanding my colleagues at times.”

It was at this point that Ms Martynova enrolled with TAFE NSW, to study the the Australian Government funded Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) Distance Learning, delivered nationally.

“This course has definitely helped me understand people at work a lot better and to express my thoughts, resulting in me securing a permanent position at Leda Ag,” said a delighted Ms Martynova.

“This new-found confidence has also helped me integrate in my community, with me being able to have friendly conversations with people,” she said. 

Brent Sullivan, senior draftsman at Leda Ag, said, "Kristina brings a professional attitude to the working environment here at Leda Ag and she’s able to communicate with other staff members effectively, while carrying out her duties with little assistance.

Her ability to learn new skills and understand the work flow has been a critical attribute to the business, which has contributed to the company moving forward".

Ms Martynova quips that she’s now able to understand modern slang and collocations such as ‘heavy rain’, rather than ‘strong rain’ or ‘big rain’, which comes naturally to people who speak English as a first language.

Her interest in business and formal English also improved her output at work. 

“I’ve played a key role in preparing documentation for Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which has stabilised work processes and led to increased manufacturing productivity,” she said.

Studying online was very convenient for Ms Martynova as she could manage her own schedule and complete tasks when it suited her, while working full time, in a new country and home to boot.

“I am now planning on furthering my studies in engineering drafting,” she said.

Visit www.tafensw.edu.au/digital to explore hundreds of online courses available for enrolment in 2020.

Media contact: Bonny Gunn, TAFE Digital Media and Communications Business Partner.  M: 0417 134 048