Afghan-born Australian, Hedayat Osyan shares his journey of coming to Australia after he fled his village when the Taliban attacked. Hedayat has established a tiling business based in Sydney, which guarantees satisfactory working conditions in the construction industry to refugees and asylum seekers. The business has grown rapidly, and is instrumental in providing stability to recent migrants, supporting them to contribute positively to Australian society. Hedayat asks the question, “If a refugee can hire a dozen asylum seekers, why can’t you?
Hedayat is a 27-year-old former refugee from Afghanistan who came to Australia in 2010. He has a bachelor degree of Politics and International Relations and honours degree of Arts and Design from the University of Canberra. He has worked as a youth consultant and advisor for many organisations including the Cumberland Council, MYAN NSW and CMRC to assist refugees to establish their new lives in Australia. Currently, he is also the founder and managing director of social enterprise, Nick Tiling Services, which employs and supports refugees and asylum seekers, on a mission, to empower refugees and asylum seekers through providing training and employment opportunity. Hedayat was selected at Young Social Pioneer by FYA in 2018 and First Gens Accelerator by Ygap in 2019.
Hedayat was a speaker at TEDxSydney Pitch Night in September 2018, an evening for members to attend and listen to those in the community present their 3 minute ‘TED’ idea.