Jobs Fund delivers Blue Mountains social enterprise hub
A new social enterprise centre is delivering employment and training opportunities to disadvantaged people in the Blue Mountains as a result of a $2 million boost from the Australian Government’s Jobs Fund.
Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers, Senator Jan McLucas, today opened the Eloura HUB in Springwood.
Senator McLucas said the HUB is already being used as a social enterprise base and providing pre-employment training, work experience and jobs to disadvantaged people including young people and people with disabilities.
“Including the construction phase for the centre, the Eloura HUB has created 188 jobs, 8 traineeships and 26 work experience placements,” Senator McLucas said.
“A new social enterprise, Mountain Gardens, is already providing landscaping industry training and employment for local young people.
“This project is improving employment prospects in industries such as construction, and delivering a much needed community facility.”
Eloura HUB operator, Blue Mountains Disability Services, was granted more than $1.98 million under the Get Communities Working stream of the Jobs Fund.
The HUB will help break down employment barriers for disadvantaged job seekers, particularly those with a disability and young people.
“Working with the community to buy local products and employ local tradespeople to build the centre, the project has already raised the standard of training and practical work experience in the area,” Senator McLucas said.
Senator McLucas said the Government’s recent budget has a strong focus on supporting Australians with disability into jobs where possible while providing an essential safety net for Australians unable to work.
“We are providing more support for people with disability to get into work through extra disability employment services, wage subsidies for employers and more support for disability support pensioners to participate in work.”
This builds on a series of reforms introduced over the last three Budgets to fundamentally overhaul key aspects of the disability support pension to ensure there is a focus on peoples’ ability, not their disability.
Under the Get Communities Working and Local Jobs streams of the Jobs Fund, the Australian Government has announced $171 million for 225 projects throughout Australia.
Jobs Fund is supporting and creating jobs through projects that build community and social infrastructure in areas most affected by the global financial crisis.
Jobs Fund projects are expected to result in around 7,800 jobs, 2,200 traineeships and apprenticeships, as well as 4,800 work experience opportunities.
The full list of Jobs Fund projects and further information about the program is available at: www.keepaustraliaworking.gov.au/jobsfund.