Albury Wodonga Jobs Drive exceeds expectations

The campaign, run by four local employment businesses and supported by the chambers of commerce, aims to find 100 people employment, with an emphasis on young people.

Of the 184 placements, 67 were young people.

In just one of the many examples, a local jobactive provider in Albury matched a young Aboriginal jobseeker with a PaTH internship placement in childcare. The job seeker had always wanted to work in childcare but had no employment history and limited work experience. Through the Jobs Drive, the provider discussed an opportunity with the young person, which she has since embraced with strong support from her work host. This has turned out to be a positive experience for her and the provider believes it will result in ongoing employment.

AlburyCity Mayor Cr Kevin Mack thanked the community including the chambers and employers for their ongoing support.

“The jobs drive has exceeded expectations and went well above the expected target of 100 job placements,” Cr Mack said.

“It is great that the community has strongly supported this initiative and employers are encouraged to continue to provide ongoing opportunities for local job seekers, particularly in the lead-up to Christmas.”

Wodonga Mayor Cr Anna Speedie said while creating valuable employment opportunities, the Jobs Drive provided great community benefit.

“Like the Two Cities One Community partnership, the Jobs Drive has seen great collaboration across providers and employers,” Cr Speedie said.

“We’ve not only seen our community find pathways into employment but also seen greater awareness of the services available and the support that our local employers can access to ensure opportunities for all.”

The campaign used the Federal Government’s Youth Jobs PaTH program which stands for prepare, trial, hire – gets young people work-ready and enables employers to trial prospective workers before hiring them.

It was supported by Apprenticeship Support Australia which said it was proud to be involved in such a great initiative.

“It has allowed us to promote Apprenticeships and Traineeships to the community and assist youth in gaining their desired pathways through the support of all the providers,” Industry Training Consultant Lauren Orr said.

The participating providers were:

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