ELECTROLUX workers and other job seekers attending the Orange Jobs Expo today should take some comfort from state government figures comparing the value of development approvals in Orange and neighbouring cities.
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The figures show that Orange has been successful in attracting many large developments.
While Dubbo and Bathurst can lay claim to more development applications approved, the dollar value of the works approved here in the last financial year was significantly more than Dubbo and $80 million more than Bathurst.
The dollars tied up in large scale development here is evidence that Orange is more than holding its own in the region when it comes to creating jobs.
Perhaps most reassuring of all is that the $185 million worth of developments in Orange was a massive increase on each of the two previous years.
All this points to an economic climate which is attractive to investors who in turn are laying the ground work for job creation in the coming months and years.
At today’s jobs expo job seekers will hear this message repeated by employers and training providers in many different sectors of the labour market.
There is no escaping the fact that finding new employment for 500 Electrolux workers will be a challenge made harder because of looming job losses in Bathurst and Lithgow, but it is also true that Orange’s economy is diverse.
Friday’s expo will give employers the opportunity to spruik their job opportunities and the skills they expect in an applicant but the expo will also offer training alternatives to job seekers who see a gap between what they have to offer and what employers need.
Between them Electrolux, Orange Council and the two tiers of government have put together a valuable opportunity for job seekers.
The challenge for those who attend is to develop a sense of where their working future lies and how the advice and training on offer can help them get there.