QUEENSLAND’S Western Downs employers and jobseekers were the mutual beneficiaries of a recent networking breakfast hosted by AREEA Skills Connect in a move to promote workplace diversity and assist local women to secure rewarding employment.

The Western Downs Get Connected Networking Breakfast drew employers, government representatives and jobseekers to Dalby on 2 October to learn about the many benefits of workplace diversity, flexible work practices and innovative recruitment techniques.

The event, hosted by AREEA Skills Connect in support of the YWCA’s recruitment endeavours across the region, was held as part of the Count Me In project which is utilising government funding to connect local women to training and employment pathways in the region.

AREEA Skills Connect project manager Kim Hetherington says educating business owners on all aspects of workplace diversity is key to the region’s economic and employment growth.

“While the heightened level of resources investment in Queensland has seen many local women benefit from employment in the sector, the Count Me In project mandate is very much about assisting women to reap the training and employment benefits of the region’s growth across all sectors,” Hetherington says.

“Local employers heard success stories about how others in the region have successfully implemented flexible work practices and attracted skilled women to their organisations.

“We also had female jobseekers in attendance and a number of them secured job interviews with employers they met at the event.”

Along with its suite of workforce and skills development services for resource employers including verifications of competencies, AREEA Skills Connect has secured government funding for a number of projects designed to connect workers with training and employment pathways in the resource industry.

Click here to read about the AREEA Skills Connect Indigenous Program launched in Perth this week.