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6 AUGUST, 2024
Faith and friendship The Church of the Cross is searching for young adults to join a social group in Keilor. Operating out of the Brimbank Anglican Church, the group has been out of operation for the past year and is looking to re-launch. What started as a way for young churchgoers to socialise fell over amid the pandemic, but years on, organiser Paul Homer said there are many young people at the church who are ready to get things started back up. “We’ve got a good number of young adults coming into the church now, and they’re looking for a forum where they can meet together and discuss their issues together,” he said. “We want them to be able to discuss world issues and their own issues, and how their bible can apply to that.” There is a bowling night on August 16 in Watergardens that all young people aged above 18 are urged to attend and meet other members of the group for some fun and a discussion about the group’s future. Inquires: Paul, 0411 555 569
Paul Homer outside of Brimbank Anglican Church. (Damjan Janevski) 422063_03
Jobless rate still high By Gerald Lynch Brimbank’s jobless rate has dropped but is still well above average, according to new data. National Skills Commission data reveals Brimbank’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4 per cent in September 2023, down from 7.2 per cent 12 months prior. Despite the drop, Brimbank’s unemployment rate ranks third highest in metropolitan Melbourne, trailing only Hume and Greater Dandenong with 7.1 and 6.6 per cent respectively. Kings Park and St Albans North are among some of the suburbs with the highest unemployment rates in the state, with 9.1 and 8.8 per cent respectively.
The Victorian unemployment rate was 3.8 per cent. Future Connect chief executive Deirdre Hardy noted a number of barriers that lead to a higher youth unemployment rate throughout Brimbank. The Taylors Hill-based not-for-profit organisation helps create opportunities that lead to improving education, training and employment pathways for young people in Brimbank. “In Brimbank, there’s often situations where young people don’t have the social capital or networks to easily find full time employment,” she said. “Young people whose parents are born overseas don’t have the networks where the
parents can assist them to find work they’re interested in, whereas people with that greater social capital have a lot of networks … Able to ask friends to give their children work experience or voluntary work to build their experience. “There are opportunities for work in the area, but sometimes even entry level positions still want experience … or they may have a requirement for a driver’s licence. “I think employers can be a bit set in their ideas of what they’re looking for from an employee, and they’re not always able to be flexible in their approach to recruiting.” Brimbank city futures director Kelvin Walsh said unemployment, particularly in youth, was an ongoing concern that council continued to
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address and strived to improve. “This is a consistent long-term trend and these rates are associated with higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage in parts of the municipality,” he said. “There are a range of activities delivered by council and in partnership across several areas to help support and improve employment in Brimbank. “Council’s economic development unit works with local employers and employment providers to encourage and support employment of local people including through jobs fairs, forums, social procurement and council’s Joblink website. ■ Continued: Page 3.
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