Mature age job seekers will have more opportunities to find employment thanks to a forum held today as part of the Government’s Experience+ programs.
The Minister for Employment Participation Kate Ellis joined the Member for La Trobe Laura Smyth today in Tecoma at a forum bringing together employers and mature age job seekers to look at ways to increase the employment of mature age workers in the region.
“We know there are 3.8 million mature-age Australians, many interested in working, and that having these people in the workforce will keep the economy strong,” Ms Ellis said.
“I want to hear first hand from mature-aged Australians about how we as a government can work with them and business to tear down the barriers they face finding work.”
The Member for La Trobe Laura Smyth said the forum would provide local job seekers the opportunity to hear from employers and government representatives about targeted employment strategies and to share their own experiences so that employers understand the barriers faced by people currently looking for work.
“As local member I hear too many stories from mature-aged locals who hit barriers when it comes to finding work,” Ms Smyth said.
“Many of mature-aged people feel rejected considering the extensive experience and skills they have to offer.
“Not only is this not right by our mature-aged workers, it’s also not smart business practice.
“It’s fantastic the number of people over 45 with jobs in the Outer East Melbourne communities grew by almost ten per cent over the past year, or by 8,800 people – but we still need to do more.”
Minister Ellis said convening mature age job seeker forums are just part of the Government’s commitment to getting more mature-aged Australians into work including:
- Providing more than 8,000 free career advice sessions to help mature-age job seekers market their skills to employers through the $11.9 million Experience+ Career Advice service
- Extended the Corporate Champions program to more than 250 business to encourage them to hire and retain mature aged workers
- $10 million towards the Jobs Bonus to reward employers of mature-age workers
- $20 million through the Investing in Experience — Skills and Training Recognition initiative
- $35 million for National Workforce Development Fund projects that focus on mature-age training
Minister Ellis said the Australian Government is doing more than ever before to harness the skills and experience of mature workers.
“In order to understand the challenges mature-aged workers face, earlier this year we commissioned the first ever survey of 3000 mature-age Australians specifically looking at the major barriers to employment,” Minister Ellis said.
“The Australia Government also appointed the first Age Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan AO. We have also have charged the Law Reform Commission with identifying discrimination and disincentives for older workers in Australian law, with a report due next year.”