Back to Work program helps employ more than 400 jobseekers in State’s South West

The Palaszczuk Government has helped employ over 400 people in the state’s South West region under a $3.36 million Back to Work Regional program investment in jobs.

Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford today (Saturday) visited Roma's Maranoa Laundry - one of more than 200 employers in the South West region to so far benefit from the program.

“The Maranoa Laundry is a good example of a local business owner who was looking to employ staff,” Mr Crawford said.

“The business utilised the Back to Work funding to ensure their new employees were provided additional training to gain qualifications to support them in their new roles.

“Under the program, employers are being given a financial helping hand to employ eligible jobseekers with payments of up to $20,000.

“In less than two years, the Palaszczuk Government has provided $3.36 million through the program to 218 employers in the South West Region to put on 408 people. I’m encouraging any other employers who might be considering taking on someone new in 2018, to check if they are eligible.”

Employment and Small Business Minister Shannon Fentiman said programs like Back to Work supported businesses to grow.

"We know that some people are still struggling to find the right opportunity and that's what makes Back to Work so successful," Ms Fentiman said.

"Back to Work encourages employers to have the confidence to take on a new employee, creating more jobs for Queensland while supporting local businesses.

"This program has supported more than 4600 regional Queensland employers, and helped almost 10,000 unemployed regional Queenslanders get a job. The program has been a valuable contributor to the 152,400 jobs created since the Palaszczuk Government was elected."

Maranoa Laundry owner Margaret Wright said that Back to Work funding gave her business the confidence to face the challenges they were experiencing in finding staff.

“Our staff training is all in-house and Back to Work gave us the financial buffer to provide more training than we usually do,” Ms Wright said.

“The training means new staff can be developed more quickly than usual.”

Back to Work has local teams available to support employers and jobseekers.

Employers are encouraged to visit www.qld.gov.au/backtowork or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68) for more information about Back to Work, to apply for an employer support payment or connect with their local Back to Work team.

Background: The South West region of the Back to Work program includes Roma, Dalby, Warwick, Stanthorpe, Texas, Miles, Charleville, Quilpie, Cunnamulla, St George, Goondiwindi and surrounding areas.

ENDS

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