Gladstone businesses and job seekers recently benefitted from a ‘Community Employment Day’ in Gladstone, thanks to Community Solutions and its partners.
With *107% increase in vacancies in Central Queensland alone, strong recruitment growth has been observed in Gladstone. As a result, the difficulty in recruiting in Regional Australia is trending upwards as the pool of skilled candidates reduces.
As part of a series of events, Community Solutions is driving employment growth through community connections and conversations. Working in partnership with local businesses, community services and community groups, Community Solutions is enabling job seekers to connect with local employers.
“Today, at Gladstone Employment Day, we’ve had a lot of interviews and have spoken to a lot of great job seekers. It’s a valuable event. Nothing beats meeting people in person” Liam O’Toole, Recruitment Team Leader for ESS Queensland, part of Compass Group
“And it’s good to get our name out there in terms of what we do, who we are and the type of work that we have. It’s been a really good event.”
For Dave Nunn at High Risk Solutions, it was also a chance to showcase the role expectations, “Today, I’ve had three interviews. I’ve also spoken to Master Builders and a chance to speak to job seekers about what I’m doing, to show them how we’re doing it and showcase the skills they will learn on the job.”
Through Community Employment Days, businesses like Consolidated Linen Service in Gladstone can get their business and vacancies out there. It gives them the chance to explain who they are, what they do and to engage informally with people looking for work.
“I’ve hired more than 15 staff members in Gladstone through Community Solutions and even more for my other sites up to Airlie Beach”, Tom Roberts, Central QLD Operations Manager.
“These events allow me to not only showcase my business and vacancies, but to speak with job seekers about their employment needs and how my business operates.”
Dave, High Risk Solutions said, “I would recommend other businesses coming along and see how they could find people to fit the skillsets that they need”
At Community Employment Days, job seekers learn more about the vacancies available in Gladstone. They also learn about how to access wider support like training, skill-building, and community services. These opportunities help them to become work ready and to sustain meaningful employment.
“The main problems for me being unable to get a job are being un-skilled, not knowing how to apply for vacancies and I’m on parole. It makes it much more difficult as people take one look at you and say no thank you”, Joe Harrison, Gladstone Job Seeker.
“The Community Employment Day run by Community Solutions allowed me to speak with different employers outside of formal applications. It was here where I secured a PaTH internship with Gladstone business, Contract Resources. I’ve been with them for 6 or 7 weeks now. The internship has opened my eyes to what’s happening in the workforce and what it’s going to be like.”
“I would never have met the Contact Resources team or secured this internship unless I went to Community Solutions’ ‘Community Employment Day’.”
Looking for more information on how Community Solutions can help you to find the right candidate for your business? Check out the Employers page for more on our end-to-end recruitment service.
Alternatively, see how Compass Group found work-ready employees by working with our Mackay employment team, Providing employment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
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