Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development
The Honourable Andrew Fraser

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Eagleby South State School putting unemployed people to work

A group of 12 unemployed people are refurbishing Eagleby South State School to gain new work skills and experience thanks to funding from the Queensland Government.

Parliamentary Secretary for Employment and Economic Development, Jan Jarratt, said the group had started a 13 week paid work placement thanks to a $139,380 grant from the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.

“Twin Rivers Community Care Association have organised this project as part of their Skilling Up project,” Ms Jarratt said.

“A total of 36 long-term unemployed people have now been recruited into three separate work placements as part of this project.

“The previous two intakes worked on the Beenleigh Historical Village, Beenleigh Neighbourhood Centre, Windaroo State School and Mount Warren Park State School which gave them practical experience in construction and landscaping.”

Twin Rivers Community Care Association Job Placement Officer Renee Whan said participants had a good mix of jobs to do at the site.

“This group will paint the library, level uneven paths and remove other hazards, repair and restore the basketball court, cricket nets and much more around the school,” Ms Whan said.

“It is a wonderful opportunity for the participants to get on-site and brush up on general workplace skills like teamwork and time management, as well as learning how to work safely in construction and landscaping.

“Restoring the facilities at Eagleby South State School will be great for the participants' self-confidence, and will give them the motivation to build on the skills and experience they gain through this project.”

For more information on the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative visit www.employment.qld.gov.au or call 1300 369 925.

Media contacts:   Treasurer’s office — (07) 3224 6361 or (07) 3224 5982
                                Twin Rivers Community Care Association - (07) 3382 4000

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