Mr Ghanam has worked at McKinlay’s Footwear, in Glasgow St, since December 2016.
The Syrian entered the country almost two years ago as part of Dunedin’s second intake of refugees.
Soon after he arrived, he requested help finding a job making shoes through the Red Cross’ Pathways to Employment programme.
He knew the trade well, as he worked as a cobbler since age 10.
He was taken around McKinlay’s, but was told his English would be a problem.
However, the company gave him a shot in December 2016, while other staff were on holiday. He impressed, and was given a fulltime position.
While his English is still shaky, he is now better able to understand instructions from other staff.
Through a translator, he said the work environment was very different from his home in Aleppo.
"The factory there was really big. There were about 2500 to 3000 workers."
Another stark difference was the lack of children.
"Something I got used to is you can’t work here until you are 18. In Syria we are used to people working from young ages.
"You had to learn a skill to earn money for your family. Studying might leave you looking for a job for a longer period of time."
Mr Ghanam enjoys his work and is becoming more confident talking to his workmates.
He lives in Concord with his wife and four children.
An experienced football player, in his spare time he lends his talents to the Mosgiel Association Football Club.
He said other players tried hard to communicate and there were a few in the team who spoke Arabic.
McKinlay’s managing director Graeme McKinlay said having Mr Ghanam on board was an "eye-opener".
"We were looking for someone on a temporary basis and even in that time his English has improved quite a lot. He’s always keen to be at work.
"It’s great for us to find a staff member who already has the skills, because we usually have to train people up from scratch."
