Doorstop Interview - Frankston, Victoria

JODIE BELYEA, MEMBER FOR DUNKLEY:    Good morning. I’m here at the Thrive Hub in Frankston. It’s one of two facilities which supports adults into employment, education and training. I'm here with the Minister for Employment Amanda Rishworth.

Amanda, welcome.

AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS:    Great to be here. I'd like to thank you, Jodie, for your advocacy for people getting that opportunity of dignity to work. I'm really pleased that we were able to deliver on our election commitment to provide a million dollars to the Thrive Hub run by the Brotherhood of St Laurence. These Hubs do incredibly important work in supporting people to build their confidence, break down both vocational and non-vocational barriers in a supportive environment. But importantly, work with people to see what they're passionate about, what jobs they want to go into. It's really a great pleasure to see the work today that has been done here at the Thrive Hub, but importantly I'm very proud that our government has partnered with the Victorian Government to fund the Thrive Hubs for another two years.

TRAVERS MCLEOD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BROTHERHOOD OF ST LAURENCE:    Thank you very much, Minister Rishworth and Jodie. So, I’m Trav McLeod, Executive Director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, and this is a really exciting day. As the Minister has said, the Thrive Hubs are all about building confidence and capability so that people can find their way in the economy, find their way to economic participation and live the lives they aspire to. Thrive Hubs meet people where they are, and today we've heard some powerful stories of how that has happened, triaging supports, coaching, training, warm referrals to other services, and through the support from the Federal Government and the Victorian Government, demonstrate what a more empowering and productive approach to employment services can be.

We're delighted to partner with the government in these hubs and we're looking forward to them informing the broader reforms to the Workforce Australia employment services system. We might hear from Obeda. What’s been your experience?

OBEDA, THRIVE HUB: So far, so good over here at the Hub. They've given me the confidence to do things like job interviews and prep myself for jobs. They've given me the confidence so I can go in and do things on my own and try some things and figure out stuff in my life, you know.

But all thanks to the Hub and everything they've done for us and given us all their confidence and boost to get us to where we are today, and thank you.

ENDS