The needs of the current Indigenous labour market have become a number one priority for a number of government departments and organisations, representing the Southern Queensland region.

The goal is to raise the participation of Indigenous Australians in the agri-food industries.

Some eight stakeholders, including Agforce, the Queensland Rural Industry Training Council (QRITC), the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F), the Department of Education, Training and the Arts, (DETA) the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, (DEIR) the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, (DEEWR), WCW Consultancy & Training and the Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry (DTRDI) have recently held discussions to identify the needs of Indigenous people in South West Queensland, in respect to their current employment situation.

Indigenous representative for the Steering Committee, Charlie Waters, said the discussions, which were made up of two parts, identifying the labour shortages within industry and skills needed for industry, along with examining the unemployment and participation rate of Indigenous Australians within the region.

“We looked at the participation of Indigenous people within the agri-food sector and agri-businesses and how they can come together with employers from the industry,” Mr Waters said.

“The discussions of the committee were an environment of openness, flexibility and responsiveness with actions formulated in regard to matching the Indigenous community and the industry together.

“Participation of Indigenous people within the agri-food sector isn’t high, and unemployed indigenous people could be a major contributor to the labour shortages issue affecting the agri-foods industries,” Mr Waters said.

“In 2009, the Community Development Employment Programs (CDEP) will be disbanded across some of the major communities of the South West, which will result in a large number of Indigenous people seeking further employment.

“We all know that it is may times the most disadvantaged that are affected during times of economic crisis. It is important that at times like these that we build up a good reliable service along with the agri-food sector to capture this human resource and ensure that the industry and the Aboriginal community create a buffer against the crisis” he said.

“There are already a couple of Indigenous employment businesses operating and we hope we can provide and gain further support from government and industry to support these programs. These employment operations could be implemented across the whole sector.”

The result of the discussion – the Scoping Analysis – which was facilitated by Queensland Rural Industry Training Council, and undertaken by consultants Peter and Rochelle Jesser identified that:

1. Agriculture is a historical employer of choice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the South Western region;

2. That rural areas present the most difficulties to policy makers in tackling the issue of Aboriginal inequality in economic participation;

3. The current economic situation of Aboriginal people is closely related to economic changes in the rural economy.

The Scoping Analysis report will be launched at All Seasons Function Centre, Toowoomba on February 12.

Contact Yvon Wigley on 1800623946 or e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Contact Charlie Waters on 0429976860 or e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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The new Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) online Jobs Board aims to assist career seekers and employers in the Queensland building and construction industry as part of its drive to meet the needs of the fast-developing coal seam gas and support industries.

Construction Skills Qld's new Jobs Board is helping to gear up for the CSG/LNG construction boom.

The Jobs Board will fast track new entrants into the building and construction industry and provide employers with a vital tool to source additional staff.  Initiatives such as the Jobs Board are becoming increasingly important, a CSQ spokesman said, given the workforce demands posed by the emerging coal seam gas to liquefied natural gas (CSG/LNG) industry.

Jobs Board is available free of charge to building and construction industry employers, allowing them to post job vacancies directly to the CSQ website. While job seekers will able to search job opportunities by trade, qualification and region to pinpoint their preferred role.

Construction Skills Queensland CEO Brett Schimming said the Jobs Board will help the building and construction industry quickly find staff and further develop a skilled workforce.

"Last December CSQ released a Workforce Plan for the construction phase of the CSG/LNG industry which predicted that, based on four LNG trains, over 9000 workers would be required to construct planned projects," Mr Schimming said.

 "The Jobs Board is an initiative of CSQ's Workforce Planning Program to help industry meet this skills demand."

The Jobs Board is part of a new CSQ website which provides a central hub for Queensland's construction industry to find news and information about training, upskilling and funding.

The new website will help keep people informed of key developments in the CSG/LNG industry and other areas of construction, providing the latest industry news and a list of upcoming industry events.

In addition, research and insights are available on the new website, including CSQ's industry dashboard which highlights key training and employment trends in the industry, assisting employers with workforce planning.

www.csq.org.au

To explore the Jobs Board and other features of CSQ's new website visit www.csq.org.au or contact the CSQ team for more information on 1800 798 488.

ENGINEERING group Bechtel Australia has received high praise from industry support body Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ), for the innovative training program Bechtel implemented during the construction phase of the Curtis Island LNG plant project.

Bechtel Australia won the Employer of the Year Award at the 2013 Queensland Training Awards.

Bechtel invested more than $2.3 million in training on the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project between July 2011 and February 2013, providing opportunities for more than 350 workers to participate in accredited training each month.

CSQ CEO Brett Schimming said Bechtel will also have one of the largest intakes of apprentices in Australian history through its adult apprenticeship program.

Mr Schimming said a construction employer winning the award illustrated the strong training culture that existed across the state in the building and construction industry.

“Bechtel are a great example of construction employers in Queensland committed to maximising the training outcomes of major projects for the wider community,” Mr Schimming said.

“In addition to offering on the job training to the apprentices, the company has helped a further 350 workers each month to develop new skills and progress their careers,” he said.

“We congratulate the Bechtel team on their hard work and dedication to training which will help to ensure a lasting legacy of skills for the Gladstone construction industry.”

During the project, CSQ has provided funding towards two ‘apprentice coordinators’ dedicated to apprentice and trainee management and mentoring.

“The coordinators played a key role in ensuring Bechtel has a framework in place to support the needs of their apprentices,” Mr Schimming said.

At an early stage, Bechtel identified challenges in recruiting the large number of steel fixers required by the project. With funding support from CSQ, the company developed a purpose built program to train existing workers on the project in steel fixing.

Mr Schimming said industry upskilling was a key focus for CSQ.

“Resource related infrastructure projects continue to face significant skills challenges that can only be met by harnessing the capacity of our existing workers,” he said.

“While many of the skills from residential and commercial construction are transferable, some training may be necessary to make the transition into the engineering construction sector of the industry.

“With funding support of civil construction training programs and industry short courses, we are providing opportunities for workers to upskill and gain the right skills mix to take advantage of work prospects on major projects.

“Across Queensland we are working to ensure we have a construction workforce capable of meeting the skills demands of the future,” Mr Schimming said.

CSQ recently outlined a $52.5 million investment in skills development over the next 12 months for the state’s building and construction industry.

CSQ has published details of its Annual Training Plan investment on its website.

 www.csq.org.au