A huge thank you to the team at "KNITTING FOR BRISBANE'S NEEDY" for their generous donation of personal toiletry bags. These will go to good use to assist some of our less fortunate clients. I would thoroughly recomend a visit to their website at www.knittingforbrisbanesneedy.com to see some of the great work they do. Take note also that they are constantly on the lookout themselves for donations of goods, particularly knitted or crocheted items of clothing, blankets, beanies, jumpers, wool and more. Perhaps if you fancy yourself with the knitting or crochet needles you may think about contacting them and with a view to becoming a part of their organisation. They do great, work and help many less fortunate than ourselves so, if you can, help them to help others.
On Friday the 21st May Centrelink hosted a Jobs Expo at the Ipswich Showgrounds. There was a huge turnout of exhibitors offering employment assistance, training, career opportunities and other support services. The turnout was terrific despite the overcast conditions and the organisers nust have been happy. Our organisation was well represented by Maree and Margaret and they reported a huge number of enquiries from the public regarding the services that we offer. There was a sausage sizzle, music and the chance to meet with league legends Arthur Beetson and Tommy Raudonikis.
We hope those of you looking for work took the opportunity to visit and perhaps you applied for some of the 500 jobs on the job board.
 
Latest Newsletter
The latest newsletter has been published and a hard copy has been sent out along with an electronic version to those of our clients who have supplied an e-mail address. We hope you get something from it and remind you that we are always looking for stories from our clients that we can publish. So if you have achieved something that you feel should be reported to the rest of us then let us know so we can share it. If you failed to receive a copy of the newsletter you can see it here
Important Changes
From the 1st March 2010 the Australian Government's disability employment services changed. Work Venture became a Disability Employment Service provider. Under Disability Employment Services, all eligible job seekers with disability, injury or health condition will be able to receive assistance from an employment service provider to prepare for, find and keep a job. There are no waiting lists so those eligible will receive the right assistance as early as possible. There will be more focus on education, training and skills development to increase the chances of getting and staying in a job.
Existing clients of Work Venture should have been informed of the changes in a letter that was be sent to them by the Australian Government. Existing clients of Work Venture will continue to receive assistance and support from Work Venture to find and remain in employment.
Under Disability Employment Services you may be able to choose to be assisted by an organisation that has particular expertise in helping people with specific needs. For example, some providers may assist people with vision impairment or mental health condition or indigenous people.
Disability Employment Services providers will provide a mix of services to address both job related and more personal concerns. The new Disability Employment Services aim to achieve jobs that last.
Disability Employment Services include two seperate programs which provide assistance to:
You can find out more information about Disability Employment Services by visiting www.deewr.gov.au/DES or calling1800 805 260. Charges may apply for calls from mobile phones.
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