Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

After the success of the Jobs and Skills Expo in Ipswich in 2010, which saw 3,200 local job seekers connect with hundreds of jobs and skills training opportunities, I lobbied hard to get another Jobs and Skills Expo in Ipswich. Since September 2009, the federal Labor government has held 52 expos and seen more than 19,700 Australians being connected with jobs. The jobs and skills expos form part of this government's $3 billion Building Australia's Future Workforce package to tackle unemployment and skills gaps in areas such as Ipswich and its surrounding region. Having a jobs and skills expo in Ipswich has provided real opportunities for local businesses, local government, TAFEs, universities, Defence Force and the like to look for staff. The skills expo has provided a great networking opportunity for business, government and individuals. Tony Perera, a manager from the Australian government Department of Human Services in Ipswich, encouraged local job seekers to attend the expo as well. The expo was held on 13 June 2012, over 475 jobs were up for grabs and around 260 job seekers were connected with a job at the Australian Government Jobs and Skills Expo at the showgrounds in Ipswich on that day. About 2,400 people went through the gates and into the showgrounds and about 1,150 resumes were taken by over 80 exhibitors. It was a resounding success. There were about 1,000 people through the gate in the first hour. The Minister for Employment Participation, the Hon. Kate Ellis, was there—and I thank her for coming—as well as Sid Sidebottom, the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, who has responsibility for skills development in agriculture. He spoke with a number of educators providing rural skills in the local region.

Our region has been hit hard, not just by the patchwork economy but by the floods and natural disasters which have impacted on Ipswich and Somerset, the Lockyer Valley and Brisbane as well. I thank the exhibitors who were there from organisations, enterprises and government, like the Australian Defence Force, the University of Southern Queensland, the Bremer Institute of TAFE, the Ipswich City Council, the Department of Human Services, Bus Queensland, which offered 30 jobs in the region, Woolworths, Australia Post, EnergyX, Hayes Recruitment and Drake Recruitment. I also thank the local Ipswich base radio station, River 94.9, for broadcasting from the expo and its great promotion of the expo. I thank David Greenwood, the manager, and all of the wonderful people who contributed to this fantastic success.