In the latest step twoards a $1.5 million Greater Dandenong Employment Hub, a meeting was held between MPs, employers and City of Greater Dandenong Council officers.
The ball has been running with no major updates since the Labor party’s federal election promise by Treasurer Jim Charmers, together with Bruce MP Julian Hill, Isaacs MP Mark Dreyfus and Greater Dandenong mayor Jim Memeti in April
This would be the first of its kind development, however, no new or clear details are provided on how it will address the ongoing high rate of youth unemployment in the South East.
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.
With existing job services and organisations available, the employment hub is considered to “go further” to support those who may not be eligible for standard services, Hill says.
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 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 an employment hub in Dandenong is a 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 with the support they might need
“It’s about playing to our strengths. We’ve got the base in our region, we’ve 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.
Greater Dandenong is known to have an above-national average rate of youth unemployment of 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 host job hunting programs for youth in the South East, such as IntoJob’s program Kicking Goals, Moving the Mob directed towards First Nations people, and SisterWorks sustainable production hub employment opportunities.
