Illawarra/South Coast local Jobs and Skills Taskforce & Working Groups - Workforce Australia

 

The Local Jobs Program runs to 30 June 2027 in 51 employment regions throughout Australia, including the Illawarra South Coast. It brings together expertise, resources and access to funding at the local level to focus on reskilling, upskilling and employment pathways for people in each region.  We’re refreshing the Illawarra South Coast Local Jobs and Skills Taskforce and Working Groups—how to stay involved The Illawarra South Coast Local Jobs and Skills Taskforce at its meeting in Kiama on 21 August 2025. The Illawarra South Coast Local Jobs and Skills Taskforce met in Kiama on 21 August 2025 to review the role of the Taskforce and Working Groups, and agree on changes as part of a wider Local Jobs Program refresh. At that meeting the Taskforce committed to a new model that will enable it to focus on what matters most: practical collaboration that delivers strong employment outcomes for our region.   What’s changing Meeting frequency: Taskforce meetings will now be held every two months. Working Group meetings will be held in the intervening month. A schedule of meeting dates will be sent separately.   Closed meetings: Taskforce meetings will now be open to Taskforce members, permanent observers, and invited guests only. This is to ensure the Taskforce is able to focus its attention at meetings on the analysis of and response to the region's important labour market challenges and opportunities. Presentations from stakeholders normally made at Taskforce meetings will be transferred to meetings of the Working Groups.   Taskforce meeting format: The format of each Taskforce meeting will be simplified to include a brief labour market overview from the Job Coordinator, sector/cohort updates from Working Group Chairs, and then a deep dive-discussion around priority labour market issues needing an LJP response or action.   Action flow: Decisions and tasks from the Taskforce meetings will be delegated to Working Groups or external partners as needed.   Working Groups: The LJP Working Groups will continue to be the primary forum for information sharing and the design of collaborative projects. Each Working Group will be Chaired by a Taskforce member. All regional stakeholders will continue to have the opportunity to engage and collaborate via the Working Groups.   Annual Employment Summit: We’ll convene an Employment Summit for the Illawarra South Coast in May 2026 (date TBC). This will bring together all the region's stakeholders - Taskforce members, Working Group participants, employers, employment service providers, community organisations, training organisations and government agencies - in the one location for a day of presentations, analysis, collaboration and planning.   How you can engage Join a Working Group: Join and contribute to a Working Group. Working Groups meet online every 2-3 months for 60-90 minutes. We'll let you know details of Working Group meetings and dial-in details ahead of time. A schedule of meeting dates will be sent separately.   Collaborate with Working Group members and the Local Jobs Program Team: We're stronger as a region if we all work together to identify and solve the region's employment challenges. Please attend Working Group meetings regularly and share your insights, ideas, projects  etc, so we can look for opportunities to support each other's work.   What to expect next Two-monthly updates: After each Taskforce meeting, we’ll share a concise summary of Working Group activities and Taskforce outcomes with all stakeholders.   More visibility: Expect stronger social media updates highlighting priorities, trials, wins, and next steps.   A schedule of meeting dates: We'll message you over the next 1-2 weeks with a schedule of dates for all Working Group meetings for 2025 - 2026. If you have any questions, please reply to this email and we’ll get back to you. Regards Andrew Wales Job Coordinator — Illawarra South Coast Local Jobs Program on behalf of the Illawarra South Coast Local Jobs and SkillsTaskforce - The Illawarra South Coast Local Jobs and Skills Taskforce - TOP ROW (L-R): Matthew Clarke, Corin Hodgson, Coralie McCarthy, Bianca Perry, Nicky Sloan BOTTOM ROW (L-R): Leanne Smith, Rhonnie South, Selena Stevens, Andrew Wales, John Watkin