MINISTER for Employment and Western Victoria upper house MP Jaala Pulford last week announced a new State Government initiative that will see jobseekers receive hospitality training and recruitment.<\/p>\n
With Mitchell Harris Wines as a backdrop, Ms Pulford said 500 openings were available across the state and the program will provide \u201cdozens\u201d of entry-level jobs to fill staff shortages for Ballarat businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cAround a quarter of them will go to regional Victoria, and obviously Ballarat\u2019s the second largest city in regional Victoria,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so important for people to have a foothold in work, and it\u2019s also important for a business to have the people they need to give customers a fabulous experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a really novel approach, a really new and different way of bringing these two problems together into a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
The initiative would see $6.8 million allocated to Jobs Victoria as part of the State Government\u2019s $200 million Business Stimulus Package.<\/p>\n
Other partners in the effort include the Apprenticeship Employment Network and Group Training Organisations members, who will coordinate the endeavour.<\/p>\n
John Harris, owner of Mitchell Harris Wines, said the program will be \u201cvery helpful\u201d in allowing them to continue recovering from the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have that extra pool of staff that we can tap into that do have some experience will be really beneficial,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019ve got eager customers wanting to come into your venue, to find skilled and experienced staff to look after them has been our biggest challenge over the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program will run until September, and jobseekers will be paid for five days of basic training, including food-handling and barista courses, and the responsible service of alcohol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MINISTER for Employment and Western Victoria upper house MP Jaala Pulford last week announced a new State Government initiative that will see jobseekers receive hospitality training and recruitment. With Mitchell Harris Wines as a backdrop, Ms Pulford said 500 openings were available across the state and the program will provide \u201cdozens\u201d of entry-level jobs to […]<\/p>\n