About
Business Connect
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toowoomba chamber
Business Connect
The Business Connect program facilitates opportunities for Toowoomba business owners to access the untapped pool of skills available in Toowoomba’s migrant and refugee population. Business Connect provides an integrated workforce solution, supporting both the employer and the employee, matching skilled migrants and refugees with local job opportunities.
Through the Business Connect program, Toowoomba Chamber is also continuing to promote a better understanding of the migrant employment experience. Toowoomba Chamber believes the positive migrant experiences it is promoting is inspiring more local businesses to reach out and become involved in the program.
Cultural Awareness Handbook
Are you a culturally aware workplace?
We have developed a Cultural Awareness Handbook thanks to our partnership with DYJESBT to assist businesses to employ and onboard migrants and refugees and provide a roadmap for employing migrants and refugees, including information about the wrap-around support available.
The Handbook highlights potential cultural differences and tips to addressing these, with a big emphasis on language support throughout the employment and onboarding process; post-placement mentoring and how to integrate a culturally and linguistically diverse employee into your workplace.
Many local businesses and organisations have contributed their time, their knowledge, and their learnings to the development of the Handbook. These businesses have shared their firsthand experiences and their key learnings to help other businesses. Without their input we would not have such an in-depth resource for the Toowoomba business community.
A huge thank you to Focus HR, and Heritage Bank.
- Tilly’s Crawler Parts
- Power Tynan
- Classic Recruitment
- Kialla Pure Foods
- South West Qld Training
- Happy Too Deliveries
- McDonald’s Toowoomba
- Catering People
- Multicultural Australia
- Mercy Community Services
- Darwalla Farms
- Vanguard
- Wagners
Business Connect is about creating outreach and collaboration to continue the valuable work of connecting business owners with persons looking for employment. The Toowoomba Chamber’s focus has been to build a local skills supply chain, supporting our member businesses to utilise skills from our migrant and refugee population.
Toowoomba Chamber’s Business Connect program is a joint initiative between the Toowoomba Chamber and our major partner, CatholicCare Social Services. The main focus of the project is to develop and support employment partnerships between our member businesses and skilled migrants and refugees.
Skilled Migrants and Refugees video
If you have skills gaps in your business or are finding it difficult to fill a particular role, please contact Toowoomba Chamber for further information about our Business Connect program.
It is our goal, to build on the outreach and collaboration we have achieved and continue the valuable work of connecting business owners with skilled migrants and refugees, and other persons looking for employment.
Research suggests that workplaces that embrace diversity and inclusivity in their workforce enjoy many positive benefits, such as:
- Retaining workers
- Improving brand reputation
- Lower incidence of workplace injury
- Enhanced productivity
- Lower absenteeism
- Improved employee morale and positive organisational culture
Information for Employers on Disability and Employment
One out of every five people in Australia lives with disability. However, for many individuals with disabilities, finding a job in the open employment market remains a challenging task. Unfortunately, this is due to the continued presence of stigma, unconscious bias, and a lack of understanding regarding disabilities, which significantly limits employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
We all have a role to play to reduce the discrimination against people with disability and ensure people with disability are included and supported to participate in all aspects of society, including employment.
