Toowoomba Lifeline program helps unemployed people

Toowoomba millennial Renee Perrow was willing to try anything, but even with youth on her side, she struggled to find stable employment for eight long years.

She said it was a rollercoaster.

I'd go for one job and I'd get knocked back, or I'd go as far as to get a trial and then get knocked back and knocked back. Ms Perrow is now 27, but she admits that she would still be volunteering for Centrelink payments and sending endless job applications if it were not for the leg up from a charity.

It's very depressing at times, but then you have to get back on the horse and do it over again, she said.

Ms Perrow said her options were limited because of the lack of money for university study or vocational training.

Ms Perrow said she came out of high school with nothing that I needed someone to give me an opportunity to learn those skills, someone to say, 'This is how we do this', and Lifeline has definitely done that. Ms Perrow is now a manager at a Toowoomba Lifeline store after graduating from a skilling workers program through Lifeline Darling Downs.

Its goal is to train people who have been unemployed for a long time.

Some people have personal issues or family problems, there are some barriers that prevent them from having sustainable employment. Toowoomba's unemployment rate is higher than the Queensland average of 5.5 per cent, compared to a 4.6 per cent unemployment rate in the state.

The youth unemployment rate in the region is higher, at 7.7 per cent.

The number of long-term unemployed people is increasing, according to the Regional Development Australia RDA, whose data shows that 67 per cent of people in Queensland are unemployed for more than 12 months.

Ms Klein said that long-term unemployed people were a good option for employers who were short on labour.

She said that a lot of people who are trainees don't know the skills they have, because they've never learned to sell themselves as a product.

We teach them how to behave in an interview, how to talk to your boss if you have an issue, because a lot of people don't know communication skills.

Each Lifeline program trains 13 people in retail and 11 in business distribution over the course of six months.

Participants learn new skills, which leads to a paid role within the organisation or a new job.

More than 100 trainees have gained gainful employment, and 75 per cent of them have so far secured gainful employment.

Ms Klein said it had saved the organisation too.

She said there was a decline in volunteers since COVID.

We have a large volunteer base that is elderly. They just want to keep themselves safe after COVID.

So having the trainees turn up every day, knowing they will be there, is really important so we can keep the doors open. Joy Mingay, who runs a recruitment agency in Toowoomba, said there were long-term risks if young and unqualified people didn't get the right training.

Some young people who have done six months in retail, they've never settled anywhere, and suddenly they're 21," she said.

They're on adult wages, but they haven't had any real experience.

She said you've worked in retail and you've got good customer service, and you always thought you wanted to move over to admin.

Even if you don't have good accounting skills, you've got good cash handling, you've got some computer skills, and you're a lot more likely to make that transition because employers are more likely to give you a crack.