The Australian: Revamp urged for jobs scheme 21.03.11
Date published :
21
March
2011
By Patricia Karvelas
The Gillard government has
been urged to overhaul its job placement regime to provide more
help to people new to the dole, afterit was revealed a lack of
funding had led to a growth in long-term unemployment because
interventions were being made too late.
Ahead of the redesign of the $2.1
billion system to be complete by the May budget, the National
Employment Services Association -- the peak body for Australian
employment services -- has written to the government arguing they
are entrenching unemployment by ignoring people during the first
few months they are on benefits.
NESA also argues there is not
enough funding for work for the dole and the government's work
experience program, making it difficult to give people
placements.
The submission says while
investment for the long-term unemployed has been strengthened by
the Gillard government's regime that started in 2009, there has
been a "significant reduction in investment to assist those
citizens more recently unemployed compared to the previous
framework".
"The Australian Bureau of
Statistics release JobSearch Experience, Australia, July 2010, also
indicates that there has been a growth in the percentage of
long-term unemployed people (one year or more), which has increased
from 16 per cent in 2009 to 18 per cent in 2010," the submission
says.
It also calls for a policy shift in
the treatment of mature-aged jobseekers who now meet activity test
requirements by undertaking 15 hours a week of voluntary work. The
punishment system that deals with jobseekers ignoring their
obligations has also been condemned by NESA, which blames
inadequate communication between providers and Centrelink on
participation reports.
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