Photo: Expats in Mexico

Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll today visited Sunshine Hospital to announce $10 million for 22 Jobs Victoria partners – which will allow them to help more than a thousand jobseekers into work.

Jobs Victoria partners provide support for thousands of jobseekers facing barriers to employment, helping to prepare, place and support them into long-term sustainable work.

Sunshine Hospital is part of the Western Health network of hospitals that has employed more than 60 local jobseekers with the support of Jobs Victoria.

Westgate Community Initiatives Group, one of the 22 Jobs Victoria partners allocated new funding, has worked with the Western Health network to support jobseekers into roles at Sunshine Hospital.

During the visit, Mr Carroll saw firsthand the work that some of the former jobseekers are undertaking at the hospital – including Selina Marshall and Abdella Ali.

After working in the mining industry for 20 years, Ms Marshall is now helping to support patient care and safety after being unemployed for about five months.

Mr Ali, who came to Australia from Africa when he was 24 years old, is now working at Sunshine Hospital after being made redundant at Toyota where he had worked for more than 20 years.

These trainees are helping health professionals to perform essential services such as patient transport and movement, food service, maintaining beds, infection control and clinical cleaning.

Jobs Victoria has supported close to 9,000 people facing barriers to employment into work over the past two years.