Centacare: it’s just right for the job

Sydney
11 November 2001

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Centacare: it’s just right for the job

Evelyn Costello

By Marilyn Kerjean

Centacare’s decision to move into the Liverpool and Fairfield area with its employment service, Centacare Employment, has paid dividends for many jobseekers and for Centacare itself.

The Department of Employment, Work Place Relations and Small Business awarded the agency three and a half stars out of a possible five for its first year of operation.

“It was very good for a new provider in the area,” said Centacare Employment CEO, Evelyn Costello. “A provider who scores three gets a rollover of their contract.”

Centacare Employment has successfully placed a large number of jobseekers in the Fairfield-Liverpool area.

The “wonderful, low unemployment rates in Sydney” are not reflected in this area, said Ms Costello.

“It is a very disadvantaged area, with a very high non-English speaking population. As a result of this, these people often have barriers to employmen,” said Ms Costello.

Being under the auspices of the Catholic Church gives Centacare Employment a far-reaching vision that underlies the everyday running of its programs, she added.

“Our mission is a very strong one that promotes not only social justice, but working with people in order that they reach their full potential and participate fully in the community,” she said.

“Centacare chose to operate in this area because it is an area that perhaps isn’t (as) attractive to private providers of employment services because it is a hard labour market.”

Liverpool and Fairfield Centacare Employment has at least 2,500 job-seekers at different stages of readiness for job placement at any one time.

The agency provides two types of service: job matching and intensive assistance.

Job matching is for any job-seeker registered with Centrelink as unemployed.

Intensive assistance is specialised help for those assessed by Centrelink as needing one-to-one assistance in overcoming the barriers they may have to seeking employment on their own, such as long-term unemployment, having skills or qualifications not recognised in Australia or being out of the workforce for a long time.

“We work closely with these job-seekers in order to enhance their skills by way of accessing more training, but also working with them to further develop their interview skills and confidence in order to re-enter the workforce,” says Ms Costello.

Centacare Employment is funded by the Department of Employment, Work Place Relations and Small Business.