Jewish Care Receives $500,000 Grant to Help the Disadvantaged Secure Employment
Jewish Care Victoria has received a grant of $518,770 over four years from the State Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources to secure sustainable employment for people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Jewish Care secured the funding in response to a comprehensive grant submission produced by the organisation’s Employment and Education Centre team. Only 38 organisations out of 110 who submitted applications were selected to receive the grant.
The initiative – ‘Jobs Victoria Employment Network’ (JVEN) is being led by The Andrews Labor Government, which is aiming to help over 4000 disadvantaged Victorians find and retain work. $39 million is being provided to employment providers across Melbourne and regional Victoria to offer jobs to disadvantaged people. A range of job seekers will be supported, including refugees, retrenched automotive workers, youth justice clients, long-term unemployed people, disengaged young people, single parents, people with disability, public housing tenants and Aboriginal Victorians.
Jewish Care will be providing its job seeking services, targeting job seekers who are either aged 50 and over, members of the Ultra-Orthodox community, people living with disability including mental illness and youth; and will be working closely with employers to find work for clients who often face many barriers to employment.
Minister for Industry and Employment, Wade Noonan said: “We recognise that some people in our community face multiple barriers to work. Working with employment providers like Jewish Care will help some of the most disadvantaged Victorians find work and keep it.”
Jewish Care Manager Service Development, Simon Jedwab said: “The team developed a great submission and we are very excited to have our work recognised with Government funding. We are also grateful that we have the capacity to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds to get the support they need to find open employment.”
“Employment is an important facet of someone’s independence and self-determination, and provides great benefits to the community as a whole,” Mr Jedwab added.
Jewish Care is eager to commence the program immediately, and is looking for job seekers who may have been out of work for some time and who are either members of the Ultra-Orthodox community; adults aged 50 or over, people living with disability and young people aged 15-24 to apply for this program via the Employment and Education Centre.
There are many reasons and benefits for businesses and organisations to consider when providing employment to someone who needs support. Employers who may be interested in providing employment opportunities for people from the community with a disadvantaged background are also encouraged to contact Jewish Care. Jewish Care is able to offer support and subsidies to assist with this process.
For more information, contact Jewish Care’s Employment and Education Centre on 8517 5912, [email protected]
