Back to Work passes 1000 employees with Flying Colours

Published Friday, 27 January, 2017 at 09:45 AM

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

The Palaszczuk Government’s Back to Work to provide incentives for regional Queensland employers to take on unemployed workers has supported more than 1000 jobs.

Visiting Townsville business Flying Colours Aviation today, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the $100 million Back to Work program was helping Queenslanders into employment and she encouraged more employers to access the incentives under the program.

“My Government is prioritising jobs and getting Queenslanders back to work,” she said.

“When my Government was elected, the unemployment rate was 6.6%.  The current unemployment rate is 6%. 

“My Government to determined to work with the private sector and other levels of government to create jobs.

“Back to Work is a program to do just that and regional Queensland businesses like Flying Colours Aviation are taking it up.”

Flying Colours Aviation provides aircraft strip and painting services based at Townsville Airport, where it boasts one of the largest, certified paint hangars in Australia.

The company currently employs 26 staff and four staff have joined the business through Back to Work.

The Premier said the company advise it recently secured a contract with Virgin Airlines and it has plans to recruit an additional 15 staff next month.

“Through the Back to Work program, more than 500 employers have put on 1121 staff.  Most importantly, 432 of those staff had been out of work for more than 12 months.”

Ms Palaszczuk said North Queensland employers, including Flying Colours Aviation, were the biggest users of the Back to Work program with 115 employers across the region putting on 269 employees using the incentive.

The break down for other regions is:

  • Far North Queensland 95 employers putting on 265 staff
  • Wide Bay 132 employers putting on 187 staff
  • Mackay-Whitsunday 69 employers putting on 155 staff
  • Central Queensland 84 employers putting on 153 staff
  • North West Queensland 13 employers putting on 47 staff
  • South West Queensland 30 employers putting on 45 staff

Back to Work

  •  Provides employer support payments for eligible employers who hire an unemployed worker
  • $10,000 for an unemployed worker
  • $15,000 for a long term unemployed worker (out of work for 12 months or more)
  • $20,000 for hiring a young jobseeker aged 15-24 (from 1 December 2016 to 28 February 2017)

Businesses can visit www.qld.gov.au/backtowork or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68) for more information about Back to Work, or to apply for an employer support payment.

 

Media Contact: Geoff Breusch 0417 272 875