Business
21 August, 2024
Jobs expo highlights career opportunities in Mount Isa
It was the first event of its kind in more than five years.
It is no secret there are plentiful jobs on offer in Mount Isa – but the 2024 jobs expo has brought employers and job seekers face to face.
Last year it was identified there had not been a jobs expo in Mount Isa for more than five years and so a decision was made among local employer groups to host an event.
The success of the event attracted more employers - with the number of business stalls increasing from 32 to 48 this year.
Workforce Australia employment facilitator Steph Nicolaou said Mount Isa high school students were given sole access to the employer stalls for several hours before the event was opened to the wider public.
She said it was hoped the expo would make Mount Isa a strong consideration for young people considering their post-secondary school job choices.
“We want to retain the students in Mount Isa and encourage them to start their career journey in this city, where they have grown up, because they are already embedded in the community, so there is a higher likelihood we can keep those skills in the community into the future,” she said.
A paper written by the James Cook University Rural Economies Centre of Excellence stated that industries as diverse as resources, agriculture, health and social services struggle with attracting applicants for even entry level positions in Outback Queensland, with some sectors only managing to fill half of the available jobs on offer.
The paper stated that rural Queensland employers were often forced to look at alternative sources of workforce such as the retention of older workers in the workforce, international migrants and under-employed youth.
Speaking to stall holders at the jobs fair, it was obvious that employers were willing to go to great lengths to attract the right applicant, with some telling North West Weekly they only ask prospective workers to hold a current driver’s license and a positive attitude as the business would oversee any training, licenses or qualifications required.
Ms Nicolaou said organizing the jobs expo had resulted in improved communication between employers to assist with worker retention in the city.
“We do follow ups with our stall holders to determine the employment opportunities that have resulted from this event,” she said.
“For example - last year we know one of the health service providers had 24 applicants for jobs on the day of the jobs fair.
“This was a great result and shows the benefits of hosting an event such as this. We will be collecting similar data this year as well.”