By CASEY NEILL
TAPPING into talent was the hot topic at the latest SEBN industry breakfast.
Dandenong-born 2011 Australian of the Year Simon McKeon was the guest speaker at Sandown Racecourse in Springvale on Tuesday 3 May.
Bombardier Transportation’s Australian managing director Rene Lalande also spoke to the 120-guest event, and SEBN manager Sandra George made a plea.
As the chair of the Greater Dandenong Employment Taskforce she launched The One Per Cent Project.
The push ties in with The Doveton Project, unveiled at the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce Premier Regional Business Awards on 12 April.
Unemployment in the suburb is more than three times the national average at 12 per cent.
“The answer lies in investing in human capital – your commitment to creating jobs, giving the Doveton people more security and building a thriving working class community,” MC James Sturgess said.
Ms George said some job-seekers might require education or training, but others might just need a chance to show what they can do.
“Target 1 per cent of your workforce to be sourced from people who need a helping hand to get into work,” she said.
She said smaller businesses could instead aim to have 1 per cent of their employees lending a hand in teaching language skills, mentoring or hosting work placements.
“It’s not just about corporate responsibility,” she said.
“The bigger the talent pool we build, the more economical it is to employ from that.”
Mr McKeon agreed that giving people at the end of the employment queue a go was a smart business decision.
“Sometimes the talent is hidden,” he said.
“The world is a whole lot bigger than just fit and able-bodied people.”
Mr McKeon said his older sister has an intellectual disability. His dad gave her a job at his pharmacy in the photo developing lab.
“Yes, she was different. Yes, she probably would have struggled getting a job elsewhere,” he said.
She worked with seven or eight other women who would often pull Mr McKeon aside and tell him what a wonderful big sister he had.
“One of them even said to me ‘she’s the reason I come to work’,” he said.
Mr Lalande said government tenders now required trainees to complete 10 per cent of project hours and disadvantaged workers to complete 2.5 per cent.
“They’re not just buying trains. They buy the values that are important to them,” he said.
“Everyone can bring something to the table.”
