Brimbank City Council is recruiting about 150 extra staff through the State Government’s Working for Victoria program in a move to boost services across the municipality and support the community to re-open following lockdown.
Brimbank Mayor Cr Ranka Rasic said more than half of the new recruits were residents of Brimbank and surrounding suburbs – providing a crucial boost to the local economy by providing more local jobs to local people.
“As we emerge from restrictions, the newly elected Brimbank Council is committed to supporting our community to thrive again, while maintaining a strong focus on safety as we adjust to COVID-normal,” Cr Rasic said.
“Through Working for Victoria, we’ve provided meaningful employment to about 150 extra people – many who live in the west.
“Importantly, this includes people who can be more severely impacted by unemployment, such as young people, and people who are over 50 – with a quarter of the roles going to people in these age groups.”
In July this year Brimbank City Council welcomed up to $8 million in funding as part of the Victorian Government’s Working for Victoria initiative.
Since then, Council has begun recruitment for 161 full time equivalent positions to deliver and work on Council projects and initiatives in response to COVID-19. Of these, 74 staff have already commenced work – with the remaining planned begin work in the coming weeks.
Projects include:
- Increased engagement and support for our vulnerable residents and community cohorts
- City Cleaning Blitz teams to maintain community cleanliness and appearance
- Improving local amenity, parks, open space and waterways
- Bolstering Environmental initiatives – increasing tree canopy, mulching and pruning
- Assisting local business with resources to support and grow their online presence
- Assisting the arts & music community via the painting of murals, online music tutorials
- ICT and technology roles to support Council and community innovation outcomes; including assets, data, process, integration analysts; automation and ICT specialists
“It’s been fantastic to see so many new recruits already out and about in Brimbank – including more than 30 people helping to beautify our parks and streetscapes,” Cr Rasic said.
“On behalf of Council, I again thank the Victorian Government for funding all of these roles, which will play such an important part in assisting Brimbank to continue to support our community, businesses and sporting and cultural groups as we look to recover and rebuild.”
Brimbank Council responded quickly to the pandemic, endorsing the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response and Recovery Strategy in April, and completing 93 per cent of the actions identified in the Strategy by 30 September.
