Warrnambool City Council has entered into a partnership that offers skilled refugees and displaced people a chance to work in the South West.
Council has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), a global non-profit organisation that identifies suitable prospective employees and organises job interviews.
The partnership will facilitate employer access to workers under the Australian Government's Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot Program, which provides skilled refugees and displaced individuals with a unique pathway to live and work in Australia.
The MoU provides access to the program to employers within the municipalities of Warrnambool, Moyne, Corangamite, Southern Grampians, Colac-Otway and Glenelg.
"This is an innovative approach to addressing labour shortages," Warrnambool Mayor Cr Ben Blain said.
"We know that in recent years the DAMA, or Designated Area Migration Agreement, has been of enormous benefit to local employers unable to fill job vacancies with Australian workers.
"The Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Program serves two important functions: it addresses labour shortages while complementing existing humanitarian resettlement efforts."
"We believe it has the potential to have a significant and positive impact on our community and economy.
The program is specifically for workers who have official refugee status. It covers more than 900 occupations, providing options for businesses with vacancy types unavailable under DAMA. Currently 113 occupations are available through the Great South Coast DAMA.
TBB is involved in managing similar programs in the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Similar to the DAMA program, this initiative requires businesses to obtain endorsement to enter into a formal labour agreement with the Department of Home Affairs. The labour agreements offer concessions not available under standard visa programs and remain valid for five years.
Once a business is endorsed to recruit through the skilled refugee program TBB, which maintains a data base of skilled refugees willing to relocate to Australia, will present the business with a list of candidates that meet their requirements.
