Co-funded by the European Union

Australia: Jobs Finder Programme for Connecting Employment Agencies and Job Seekers

  • The Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association (RCSA) finalised a partnership with the State of Queensland (Australia) to connect professional recruitment and staffing agencies with job seekers during the Covid-19 pandemic. 
  • The Jobs Finder Programme rewards employment agencies that manage to place job seekers into high priority areas.

The Jobs Finder programme matched job seekers in high priority areas such as health, aged care, customer care, medical, agriculture, logistics, fast-moving consumer goods, fresh production and cleaning. 

If a list of specific requirements is met, the approved employment agency receive a list of job seekers. Once the agency can place a worker in a specific post and that individual continues in employment for at least 40 hours during the term of the program, the agency receive a payment of AUD $350 Australian (around USD$ 220) for each successful placement. 

The programme began on 16 April 2020 and it was part of the Queensland package of measures to support health, jobs and businesses. The Queensland Deputy Premier and Treasurer, Jackie Trad, said that “[t]his new online portal will allow Queenslanders who are looking for work to provide information on their skills, location and work experience”.

The Minister for Employment and Small Business, Shannon Fentiman, added: “the portal will not only connect Queenslanders with jobs but will also link them with free online training courses [...] The Jobs Finder Queensland portal includes access to nine free, short online training courses in a range of valuable skill sets in areas such as food service, health and aged care, transport as well as mental health support. [...] There will also be a range of free short courses on offer in areas such as digital literacy, cyber security and business which will be valuable for Queenslanders looking to upskill and increase their capabilities so they are better prepared to take up job opportunities when the economy recovers.”