Multicultural Employment Forum held in Brisbane North

Published Friday, 04 March, 2016 at 03:19 PM

Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, Minister for Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs
The Honourable Grace Grace

The Palaszczuk Government today held a Multicultural Employment Forum in Strathpine in the lead-up to this weekend’s Pine Rivers and Kallangur Community Cabinet.

Employment and Multicultural Affairs Minister Grace Grace opened the forum, which brought together local business and community leaders.

“The Palaszczuk Government is working with business and multicultural leaders to generate more jobs for Queensland’s migrant and refugee communities,” she said.

“Today’s forum provides those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities with an opportunity to inform and shape future employment policies and initiatives.

“Migrants and refugees make an enormous contribution to our economy and society, however we know that they can face significant barriers to employment.

“Around one third of recent migrants experience difficulties in finding their first job in Queensland, and we want to change that.

“Our efforts to connect Queenslanders from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds with job opportunities is a sign of our commitment to multiculturalism.

“This commitment is reflected in the Multicultural Recognition Bill 2015, recently passed by Parliament.

“It will go a long way towards ensuring State Government policies, programs and services recognise and respond to our growing multicultural population.”

Ms Grace said the Palaszczuk Government had a strong record on job creation, with 71,700 jobs created in Queensland since the State Election and the trend unemployment rate at its lowest for two years at 6.1 per cent.

“Our Jobs Now, Jobs for the Future employment plan includes the $1.6 billion Working Queensland jobs package to support businesses, provide skills training and get Queenslanders back to work,” she said.

Member for Kallangur, Shane King, said the forum was a great opportunity for locals to work with the State Government on ways to help those with a multicultural background participate in the workforce.

“These forums are a great first step in helping to provide pathways to workforce participation for those with a multicultural background,” said Mr King.

Member for Pine Rivers, Nikki Boyd, was a member of the government committee which reviewed the Multicultural Recognition Bill before its passage through parliament.

“This Bill means a lot to me, having worked on the committee overseeing its implementation, and I know that those with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds will see real benefits from it," Ms Boyd said.

Media Contact: Martin Philip 0427 919 548