Queensland invests in multicultural workforce

The Palaszczuk Government will invest $3 million to help work-ready migrants, refugees, and international students access support and guidance to help them find jobs and build up their careers.

The announcement comes during Multicultural Queensland Month, a celebration of all the different communities that make up the Sunshine State.

Minister for Training and Skills Development Di Farmer today visited Multicultural Australia, one of the first five successful projects from the Diverse Queensland Workforce program.

“The Queensland economy continues to power through as we continue to manage the impacts of COVID-19 and we want to make sure we don’t leave anyone behind,” Minister Farmer said.

“We put investing in skills at the heart of our COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan to ensure Queenslanders have the skills needed for the jobs of the future, and that those who might usually face barriers don’t miss out on opportunities.

“This $3 million investment is part of our $200 million Future Skills Fund.

“Over two years it will build on the great success of Skilling Queenslanders for Work by focussing on engaging culturally and linguistically diverse communities and workers.

“Overall, this investment will support up to 1000 migrants, refugees and international students into employment.

“This first stage is investing over $1 million into projects that will help over 600 people across Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Gold Coast and Cairns.

“The projects will provide direct support to migrants and refugees to connect them to services, training and work experience to help them get started in a job."

Minister for Multicultural Affairs Leanne Linard said that the program will reinforce the Palaszczuk Government’s work in supporting multicultural communities across Queensland.

“The Diverse Queensland Workforce program is an important tool for us to directly target support to culturally and linguistically diverse communities and ensure they are supported into work,” Minister Linard said.

“We know getting a job is an important step for people because it provides more social connections and builds up self-confidence – all very important for people who are looking to establish themselves and their families in a new country.

“We want to be able to support more new Queenslanders and ensure they have a bright future in Australia.”

Multicultural Australia CEO Christine Castley said the organisation is very pleased and excited to receive support from Diverse Queensland Workforce to launch its Employment Pathways Program, an initiative that will provide client-centered employment hubs for work-ready, culturally diverse job seekers.

“Our settlement and community support services cover a myriad of areas, one of the most important being employment support and training. We are focused on helping job-seekers from diverse backgrounds to navigate Queensland’s work landscape and find opportunities suited to their existing skills and qualifications,” Ms Castley said.

“Through our Employment Pathways Program we will be able to offer intensive, individualised support at every step of the employment journey, including job application and job matching, short-term and long-term employment opportunities in a variety of industries, and post-placement check-ins.

“We thank the Queensland Government for its ongoing support. Through this additional funding we will not only be able to assist new arrivals with their employment journeys, we can also contribute to the state’s overall COVID economy recovery plan by matching qualified and culturally diverse job seekers against Queensland’s skills priority list.”

Minister Farmer said Multicultural Australia and the other organisations selected to deliver Diverse Queensland Workforce projects would build on their strong records delivering support for culturally and linguistically diverse groups through the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.

“Our Skilling Queenslanders for Work program has assisted over 60,000 disadvantaged Queenslanders across the state, ensuring that they are supported in jobs now and in the future.”

The funded organisations are:

• Centacare FNQ – Employment Hub in Cairns
• Multicultural Communities Council – Gold Coast
• Multilink Community Services – Multilink Logan Diverse Workforce Hub
• Multicultural Community Centre – MCC One Stop Shop in Brisbane
• Multicultural Australia – Employment Pathways Program across Ipswich, Toowoomba and Brisbane.

For further information visit www.desbt.qld.gov.au/training/future-skills-fund or call 1300 369 935. 

Further information on Queensland Multicultural Month is here: www.qld.gov.au/multiculturalmonth  

Media contact: Kate Talbot, 0439 803 211