Minister for Regional Development Jaala Pulford this week announced $162,000 for Leadership Great South Coast to support around 20 families relocate to south west Victoria.
The pilot project will be delivered in partnership with the Great Lakes Agency for Peace, Development International, and the iGen Foundation, and will help small number of families, originally from Africa, fulfil their dream of moving to regional Victoria.
Participating families are professionals with experience in agriculture or skilled labour and are highly motivated to take on jobs in this industry. The project will address labour shortages in critical regional sectors, particularly in agricultural industries, and will help to boost population numbers.
The pilot aims to demonstrate the positive change migration projects can deliver to small regional communities and for migrant families that wish to create a new life in regional Victoria.
The Labor Government funding will help deliver community capacity building and cultural awareness training, as well as orientation and local relocation support for the families.
A researcher from the University of Melbourne will evaluate the project to determine if the model can and should be replicated across regional Victoria.
The project is supported by the government’s Regional Skills Fund – which supports local initiatives to increase skills, boost community resilience and create new jobs – and the Stronger Regional Communities Plan, which aims to attract families to live, work and invest in rural and regional Victoria.