By Cimara Pearce
THE north-western part of Melbourne has been earmarked as a new priority employment area.
The Federal Government announced last week that the West would receive increased support for jobs to help keep it working.
The Keep Australia Working report tabled last Wednesday recommends a forum to develop regional employment, conducting a Centrelink jobs expo and financial information seminar and considering how best to focus on priority areas like Sunshine and St Albans that produce local jobs for local people.
Maribyrnong MP Bill Shorten said the first step forward from the report was to appoint a local employment co-ordinator.
“It’s great to have these resources available for Melbourne’s West,” Mr Shorten said.
“Our local employment co-ordinator will work towards identifying job and apprenticeship opportunities now, while also building the skills the local community needs for the future to take up opportunities once the economy recovers.”
LeadWest chief executive officer Anton Mayer welcomed the announcement and said the group had been campaigining for a diversified jobs base in the West for some time.
“Its been a key agenda area … people would relish in the idea of working closer to home,” he said.
“If you are going to have all that business expansion as part of the new urban growth boundary … it’s important have jobs where people live and not ask people to travel greater distances to work.
A temporary local employment co-ordinator will take the position until a full-time co-ordinator is appointed.
