Forklift employment program gets lift from Mayor

Published on 01 August 2024

The first graduates from a Workforce Australia Local Jobs pilot in forklift upskilling have celebrated their achievement with a barbecue with Mayor Matthew Garwood at Heritage Forest.

Five job-ready participants were chosen to participate in the week-long specialised training for people with forklift licences who lacked the practical experience to attain sustainable employment.

Employment services provider Asuria's Regional Manager Naomi Harvey said the selected participants had completed 30 hours of work simulation training over the past week at Heritage Forest.

"This included stabilising unstable loads, spotting for each other, pallet racking simulation, forklift slalom, loading and unloading, and other general duties that a forklift operator will complete on a daily basis," Ms Harvey said.

"We had a lot of applicants for this initiative so it's wonderful to get to the end of this week and see how well our five chosen participants have done."

City of Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood was pleased to be able to support the program by personally sponsoring the cost of the forklift hire for the week.

"I'd also like to congratulate the participants for their hard work and achievement this week, as well as Asuria for running this incredibly worthwhile pilot program," Mayor Garwood said.

Workforce Australia Local Jobs is funded by the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.