Jobs red alert

By Melissa Grant and Jade Lawton
PAKENHAM workers are feeling the pinch of the world economic crisis and there are fears more will soon find their jobs on the chopping block.
Seventy-three unemployed people joined the queues at Pakenham’s Centrelink Office in January, and a study released on Tuesday has identified Pakenham as a suburb where residents have a high-risk of losing their jobs.
It is one of 100 “red-alert” Victorian suburbs listed in the Employment Vulnerability Index (EVI), developed by the University of Newcastle’s Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE).
Education levels below the state average have seen Pakenham listed as a place highly exposed to potential job losses and poorly placed to escape disadvantage associated with unemployment.
Almost 13 per cent of residents are employed in retail, an industry vulnerable to job cuts if the economy drops, while 17.9 per cent are employed in the manufacturing sector.
The report revealed Pakenham residents forced to join the dole queue would feel the crunch, with most having higher mortgage repayments than the average Victorian.
CofFEE director Professor Mitchell said: “Some of these (red alert) suburbs are located in the middle and outer suburban mortgage belts where householders purchased homes during the recent housing and economic boom.
“A real danger is that as unemployment strikes, many of these suburbs will become hot spots of home repossessions.”
Cardinia Shire mayor Bill Pearson said he was “extremely” concerned about unemployment within the municipality.
He blamed poor school retention rates and a lack of youth training facilities for Pakenham’s job crisis.
The number of people applying for Newstart Allowance, for those seeking work, and Youth Allowance, for students, at Centrelink Pakenham soared 15.5 per cent in January.
Cr Pearson said the State and Federal Government had failed residents for not investing in Pakenham’s youth.
“There is not a youth training facility or TAFE college within the shire – to get that we have to leave the shire and go to Berwick,” he said.
The EVI showed that 45.4 per cent of Pakenham residents don’t have post-secondary school qualifications.
Cr Pearson said he knew some apprentices had been struggling to find full-time work at the end of their apprenticeships.
“My message to employers is you’ve put a lot of time and money into training these kids, don’t give up on them lightly,” he said.
Minister for Employment Participation, Brendan O’Connor, spoke last week in parliament about the constant need for skilled workers.
“We know businesses are still looking for skilled workers,” he said.
“We are investing in skilling workers through the Productivity Places program, with 711,000 training places over five years for skills-in-demand occupations.”
The authors of the report argue that the Federal Government should introduce a job guarantee which would offer a public works job to anyone who wanted one at the minimum wage.