In a latest development on the $1.5 million Greater Dandenong Employment Hub, a meeting was held between MP’s, employers and City of Greater Dandenong Council officers.
The ball has been running with no major updates since the Labor party federal election promise was first announced in April by Treasurer Jim Charmers, together with Bruce MP Julian Hill, Attorney General Mark Dreyfus and Greater Dandenong mayor Jim Memeti.
This would be the first of its kind development however, no new or clear details are provided as of yet as youth unemployment in the South East remains an ongoing challenge.
Bruce MP Julian Hill confirmed the meeting which was also attended by assistant minister for employment and workplace relations Philip Gorman MP in the week of Monday 20 October.
“I joined with Assistant Minister Gorman in listening and to learn from the Dandenong community, employers, and Council about how the Hub can be designed to meet local needs and create real job opportunities.
“For the Hub to succeed, it must be co-designed with local employers, community networks, and Council. Strong partnerships will ensure the support offered is practical, relevant, and responsive to the local labour market.”
The employment hub was on council’s federal election priority list to fill the gap between the significant unemployment rate in Greater Dandenong and its booming well-known manufacturing sector, boasted by many MP’s like Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams.
With existing job services and organisation available, the employment hub is considered to “go further” according to Mr Hill to support those who may not be eligible for standard services.
The “place-based” initiative will help connect local businesses with jobseekers and deliver employment support in the region.
Council’s strategy and corporate services executive director, Dr Marjan Hajjari said they’ve taken on board what was discussed during the session.
“We’re carefully considering how the Hub will work, so we don’t duplicate any services or programs that already exist.
“We want to have maximum impact, and this will mean tailoring this hub especially for our local Dandenong economy.”
Labor councillor Phillip Danh says Dandenong’s booming manufacturing sector and high statistics of unemployment particularly in youth employment, the hub is an opportunity to “play” to the advantages of the municipality.
“One of the big challenges is services exist but a lot of people might not necessarily know about it.
“The opportunity for employment hub in Dandenong is very exciting one hopefully it can be a way to centralise all that information in one spot so it’s a location for people to be able to access and branch out further the support they might need
“It’s about playing to our strengths, we got the base in our region, we got young people under 30 looking for opportunities close to home, so I think it’s a very good opportunity to unleash the potential of local employees in the area,” he said.
“One of the main challenges for people who work is the commute which can take up a large proportion of your day to and from work, so to have this base so close to home is something we can take advantage of and benefit our community.”
The employment hub will be housed inside the Dandenong Civic Centre on 225 Lonsdale Street to fill the vacant Bendigo Bank space as previously mentioned by the mayor Jim Memeti.
Greater Dandenong is known to have above national average of youth unemployment by 22 per cent as last reported by the Star Journal in August 2022.
The diverse multicultural community is facing an above-national-average unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent compared to a national average of 4 per cent in February 2025 according to Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force.
Youth unemployment in the South East region sits at 10.8 per cent according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force data in comparison to the national percentage of 9.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, community organisations and job agencies take on job hunting initiative programs for the youth in the South East like IntoJobs programs Kicking Goals, Moving the Mob directed towards First Nations people, SisterWorks sustainable production hub employment opportunities and many more.
