Gympie jobseekers building bridge to employment

For a group of 12 unemployed Gympie people building a footbridge across Tozer Gully was just one of their tasks on an employment project developing their skills and preparing them for the workplace.

Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations John Mickel said 11 participants will graduate from the project tomorrow as one person has already moved into full-time work.

“These participants have completed 19 weeks of paid work with the Gympie and District Landcare Group which has given them more skills and recent workplace experience,” Mr Mickel said.

“They are part of the Vegetation Management, Landscaping and Construction Skills Development project which the Gympie and District Landcare Group has organised to assist 47 people.”

“The State Government’s Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative is providing $402,180 for this project to develop the construction and horticultural skills of local unemployed people.

“With unemployment at a low 3.7 per cent employers are struggling to find people with the skills and experience they need to grow their business.

”Skilling Queenslanders for Work funds projects like this which assist unemployed and underemployed people to gain those skills so they can find work and keep our economy growing strongly.”

Gympie Landcare Project Co-ordinator Elaine Bradley said these participants have gained a lot out of their work on the project.

“On top of the skills and experience they have gathered in building the footbridge and upgrading our plant nursery they can see the benefits their work has for the community,” Ms Bradley said.

“The students from Gympie State High School who are using the bridge have given the participants positive feedback and everyone can see the improvement in the nursery’s appearance.”

“These participants have also completed our job preparation course which includes things like life skills and writing resumes or job applications.”

“This project doesn’t end here either. We have 12 more paid work placements starting soon as well as another 14 people completing our accredited training and job preparation course.”

During 2007/08 the Queensland Government will invest $80 million in the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative to give an estimated 17,000 long-term unemployed and underemployed people job related assistance and skills training to maximise labour force participation and increase Queensland's prosperity.

Twelve months after receiving employment and training assistance 67 per cent of participants are in employment.

Skilling Queenslanders for Work is part of the State Government’s $1 billion Queensland Skills Plan which aims to provide individuals and industry with the skills and workforce for the 21st Century.

For more information on the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative visit www.employment.qld.gov.au or call 1300 369 925

The graduation will be held at 3pm on January 25 at Gympie and District Landcare Group, 5 Groves Road, Gympie.

Contact: Gympie Landcare Project Coordinator Elaine Bradley on 5483 8866 or admin@gympielandcare.org.au

Ministerial contact: Chris Brown on 3237 1944 or Shannon Mackay on 3237 1125

January 24, 2008