Would-be workers pack into Jobs Fair
WHAT’S ON OFFER IN TOWNSVILLE
JOBS in health, aged care, disability support, defence, catering, cleaning, sugar refining and mining were among the 852 positions up for grabs yesterday.
One of the areas of biggest demand came from Defence Force Recruiting, which has 200 positions available. Integrated group Spotless – which works in cleaning, catering and asset management – has 106 positions and Townsville Hospital and Health Service has 70 jobs. TOWNSVILLE’S unemployed flocked to the city’s first Jobs Fair yesterday, hoping to grab one of the more than 850 jobs on offer.
Organisers of the fair, funded by the Federal Government, were very happy with the response from people looking for work and employers operating stalls.
Speaking about midway through the five-hour fair, North Queensland employment facilitator John Hall Sugar miller Wilmar has 61 jobs across its North and Central Queensland operations but also is calling for its next intake of apprentices for 2020 with 33 apprenticeships available. Other employers or job providers and the number of jobs available are Achieve Group (50), Townsville Taxis (40), TP Human Capital (30), Cleveland Youth Detention Centre (20), Catholic Education (20) and Hayes (20). Adani Australia, which also exhibited at the fair, has 20 jobs on its website. said it had already more than met their expectations.
“We are expecting we will get to 2000 overall, which will exceed the numbers we anticipated,” he said. “The participation by employers has been outstanding.”
Some 52 employers, job providers and government agencies operated stalls, while workshops were run on job seeking, resumé writing and industry sectors such as mining.
“I’ve already been told of a couple of people who feel they have had a good hearing and will be following up with employers afterwards and hopefully those will lead to jobs,” Mr Hall said.
A couple from Thirlmere, NSW, Elizabeth and Josh Menser, were travelling the country but had decided to live in Townsville to find work. “I’m looking for work in childcare or hospitality,” Ms Menser said.
“Townsville has so many restaurants and cafes. I would love to be part of that scene.”
An employer with one of the largest requirements was Wilmar Sugar, with 60 positions available across its North and Central Queensland operations, as well as needing a further 33 first-year apprentices to start in 2020.
“We have a diverse range of jobs available – from entrylevel positions through to operators, trades and degreequalified positions,” Wilmar’s Damien Mines said.
Townsville Taxi fleet compliance officer Brett Hoban said they were looking for 40 drivers.
“We will take the drivers as long as they have good communication skills, they are respectful and they can pass a police check,” he said.
“If you want to go out and meet interesting people, this is the job.”
Federal Member for Herbert Phil Thompson said while this was the first jobs fair in Townsville, it would not be the last.
“We’ll continue to have a presence here and a job fair here because we can get employers in the room,” he said.