City of Ballarat Council has announced it will work with local city leaders to pilot an industry mentoring program for skilled migrants to help address local workforce shortages.
In conjunction with HOST International, and its subsidiary organisation Regional Opportunities Australia (ROA), the Council and local city leaders from Committee for Ballarat, GROW Central Highlands and Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council will work together with skilled migrants interested in moving to Ballarat for employment opportunities.
City of Ballarat Mayor, Daniel Moloney said Council was acutely aware of the workforce shortages affecting the city’s business, community and economy.
“There is a lot of great work being done at a national level, but the work we can do on the ground here in our home city can be so beneficial to our community,” he said.
“If we can work together to address the gap between skills shortages in Ballarat and qualified migrants who are looking for a community to join, the impact on the city would be incredible.”
Under the program, candidates and local businesses will be matched to support each other’s needs, in the form of a business mentoring program.
The six-week mentoring period will allow the business and the mentee time to meet, build relationships, share information, network and assist in career development, Council said in a statement today.
It will also allow for the mentee to see what life in Ballarat is like and understand the profession in the city and discuss employment opportunities, with the business or in the industry in Ballarat, it said.
The program will also offer support for the mentees and their families to move to Ballarat should they obtain permanent employment after the mentoring period.
Within Ballarat, 15 businesses have expressed interest in becoming mentors, with matches currently being made with 15 – 20 mentee migrants currently living in Australian capital cities.
Mayor Moloney said the mentoring process commenced on 24 October and will be monitored throughout the six weeks.