The Palaszczuk Government's $629 million Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative continues to deliver valuable support that benefits individuals, businesses and communities across the state; as it opens its first funding round for the 2023-24 financial year.
With employers desperate for more job-ready applicants, reaching out to groups who are under-represented in the workforce and training them for new job opportunities, unlocks more of the potential in our state.
Skilling Queenslanders for Work has helped over 47,000 Queenslanders into jobs, and is the most successful program of its kind in the nation.
It has been one of the ways the Palaszczuk Government has delivered record low unemployment figures.
Minister for Training and Skills Development Di Farmer said organisations committed to improving skills development and work opportunities for disadvantaged Queenslanders have eight weeks to apply.
Minister Farmer said a recent survey of participants highlights the initiative's success.
"Seventy-six per cent of participants find work or take on further training around 12 months after completing a Skilling Queenslanders for Work program," Minister Farmer said.
"We are looking for new and innovative ideas that will see vulnerable Queenslanders across the state receive the support they need to find meaningful work.
Skilling Queenslanders for Work provides skills development, training and job opportunities for young people, mature-age job seekers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, women re-entering the workforce, veterans, recently released prisoners and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds through a suite of targeted skills and training programs.
Minister Farmer said the Palaszczuk Government has allocated $80 million each year to the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative to help up to 15,000 Queenslanders gain the skills they need to join the workforce.
"It not only benefits the state by delivering job-ready staff to employers, but it also ensures those looking for work have pathways to assist them," Minister Farmer said.
"The initiative supports many focus areas from the Good people. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032, which aims to attract, connect and educate a thriving workforce to set our state up for success now and into the future.
"We're calling for project applications from our current providers and interested community-based organisations that can deliver career advice, job preparation skills, foundation skills and individual case management, so Queenslanders can confidently join the workforce."
The funding application round will close on 30 March 2023.
