The Northcote Electorate will benefit from new jobs to be delivered under the Andrews Labor Government’s Working for Victoria initiative.

Working for Victoria is providing $5.04 million to fund 147 roles (137.3 FTE) across 20 social enterprises, including three right here in our community.

This support will provide jobs and training for people who face barriers to employment, including new migrants and refugees, people living with a disability, young people and women across the state. 

This funding will also provide a boost to Victoria’s social enterprise sector which contributes $5.2 billion to the Victorian economy.

Over 26 FTE roles will be supported across the Melbourne Farmers Market, Free to Feed and CERES.

At the Melbourne Farmers Market, 7 new FTE roles will help ensure a COVID-Safe environment across existing and future activities, including at the Alphington Farmers Market site. New jobs will also support communication and administration to help rebuild the MFM programs, making them better than ever.

CERES will be able to hire just over 13 FTE jobs, with roles ranging from social media officer to chef, barista, gardener and more. CERES is an incredible organisation building community understanding economic, social and environmental sustainability. These new roles will enable CERES to reengage with the community through training, employment pathways and education.

Working for Victoria funding will also provide direct employment and formal training for people who are refugees and people seeking asylum, with 5.4FTE roles at Free to Feed. Originating in Northcote and now expanding into North Fitzroy, new team members will have access to employment support and on the job training to ensure they are job-ready for the future.  

Since launching in April 2020, the Working for Victoria initiative has created more than 12,000 jobs. For more information or to register, go to vic.gov.au/workingforvictoria.   

Quotes attributable to Kat Theophanous, Labor Member for Northcote

 “Each of these social enterprises holds a special place in the heart of our community. This is an incredible opportunity to support the important work they do, all while creating local jobs.”

“We understand how important having a job is – the benefits for workers and families are profound. As your local MP, I will continue to work hard to make sure local job creation continues to grow.”