Tara Murray
LeadWest has thrown its support behind Brimbank council’s push for a regional jobs taskforce hub to be located in Brimbank.
The advocacy group, made up of six western suburbs councils, will write a letter of support to the federal government in support of the council’s push to have the western Melbourne taskforce located in Sunshine.
Taskforces have been set up across Australia by the federal government to help develop solutions to move as many people as possible back into work or training as quickly as possible by putting local employer needs at the centre of their actions and addressing the employment barriers of local people.
Brimbank mayor Ranka Rasic said the council saw synergies between the work of the taskforce, and the priorities, resources and initiatives that the council has been undertaking to lift employment opportunities in the community.
“Brimbank council has been lobbying for the creation of a regional jobs taskforce since February 2019, and we welcomed the federal government’s decision to create one for the west in late 2020. We would welcome the opportunity to host the work of the Western Region Jobs and Skills Taskforce here in Brimbank, given its strategic location, access to transport and educational facilities including Victoria University,” Cr Rasic said.
“There are high levels of unemployment and underemployment across the west. In Brimbank, youth unemployment is higher than the state average, and we believe the taskforce located in Brimbank, linking with existing job readiness programs across the west provides us with a real opportunity to do something meaningful to provide opportunities for more local jobs for local people.
“There is also a strong need to work regionally to attract jobs to the region and ensure that a skilled workforce exists.
“We are keen to support and facilitate the rollout of the taskforce’s work across Brimbank and the western region, to help identify, create and solidify genuine employment pathways as rapidly as possible, as our region begins to emerge from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In a letter to LeadWest requesting support for the council’s push to have the taskforce located in Brimbank, council chief executive Helen Morrissey said the Brimbank Community and Civic Centre was a possible location for the hub.
Cr Rasic said other possible locations included the Brimbank Learning Futures, based at the Visy Cares Hub in Sunshine.
