Unemployment in Bendigo stood at almost 7.5 per cent earlier this year, but a new project aims to change this for the better, especially in areas of disadvantage.
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Business organisation Be.Bendigo will deliver GROW – Growing Regional Opportunities for Work – in Greater Bendigo for at least three years.
Be.Bendigo chief executive officer Dennis Bice said working with businesses to encourage and assist them in buying other local products and services was one of the main initiatives.
Greater demand for products and services in Bendigo, he said, would create more employment opportunities. Employment in areas of disadvantage will be a key focus of the program.
Data from demographics agency .id shows the City of Greater Bendigo’s unemployment rate was 7.49 per cent in the June 2018 quarter, representing 4043 people out of work.
Regional Victoria’s unemployment rate was 5.3 per cent, while across the state as a whole it was 5 per cent.
Mr Bice said many businesses in Bendigo already had local procurement policies, but Be.Bendigo wanted to “take it to the next level”.
He said the first step was to develop a regional plan to establish what money was being spent outside Bendigo.
This would allow the organisation, Mr Bice said, to determine how it could work with businesses to bring some of that spend back to Bendigo.
Mr Bice said the development of the plan would also identify areas of disadvantage, such as those with significant unemployment.
The initial stages of the GROW Bendigo project will see Be.Bendigo talking to businesses about their procurement process.
Mr Bice said the organisation would also work with employers to hire people from the areas of disadvantage.
The GROW project would not only be beneficial in strengthening employment opportunities, he said, but would also boost education opportunities in Bendigo.
Under the initiative, Be.Bendigo will work with education providers, to ensure there are people available to fill skilled positions.
The GROW project originally started in Geelong in a bid to address entrenched social and economic disadvantage, and has now been running since 2015.
GROW Geelong says 8.84 new jobs can be created for every $1 million invested locally.
In the 2016-17 financial year, data supplied by 16 organisations signed up to the initiative showed a spend shift of $20.21 million.
Off the back of the program’s success, Mr Bice said, the state government decided to roll it out in other regions: Bendigo, Ballarat, Shepparton and the Latrobe Valley.
“Our plan is to start moving on it straight away,” Mr Bice said.
He said the teams behind the various GROW projects would work together to drive better outcomes across the state.
Mr Bice said Be.Bendigo was also working with the City of Greater Bendigo, which had allocated a staff member to the initiative.
Be.Bendigo received a $750,000 state government grant to roll out the program over three years.
Mr Bice said the initiative “fits quite strongly with what Be.Bendigo’s trying to do”.
“It’s significant for Be.Bendigo to be able to deliver on our role here in Bendigo,” he said. While the funding was for three years, Mr Bice said the organisation intended to ensure it was sustainable to enable it to continue into the future.
GROW Geelong chairman Bill Mithers will visit Bendigo this week.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
