Locals sign up for work at Job Network

FOURTEEN Western Australian employment services firms have picked up some of the $2.5 billion worth of Job Network business as part of an attempt to improve services to Australia’s unemployed.

One of those firms, PVS Workfind is now ranked in the top 10 of Job Network providers.

PVS director David Cielak said the company would spend $5 million over the next three years to place 6,000 unemployed Western Australians in the workforce.

He said the company would open several more shopfront centres, including in regional towns such as Albany, Busselton, Bunbury and Collie.

Other companies winning Job Network contracts include Centacare Employment, Communicare, IPA Group, Job Futures, ORS Employment Solutions, Jobs Australia Midland, The Salvation Army Employment Plus, WorkFocus Australia, Mission Australia, Jobfind Centre, Workbase, Indian Ocean Training Group and Esperance Careerstart.

The Federal Government has also announced the four WA organisations to have won contracts to run the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme.

These are the Business Enterprise Centres of WA, Millpark Corporation, Mission Australia and the Eastern Region Business Enterprise and Arts Centre. The scheme is designed to help unemployed people build successful small businesses.

Employment Services Minister Mal Brough said about 80 per cent of NEIS participants remained in business or employment three months after completing the scheme.

 “Many of these businesses go on to provide more jobs,” he said.