Half of the 480 Northern Connector jobs will go to local residents says Jay Weatherill
AT least half of the jobs created by the new $985 million Northern Connector road link will be filled by workers from Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
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AT least half of the jobs created by the new $985 million Northern Connector road link will be filled by workers from Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
SA Premier Jay Weatherill said around 480 jobs would be supported annually during the motorway construction, which will link the Northern Expressway with the South Road Superway and Port River Expressway.
It is essential major infrastructure projects support local jobs said Mr Weatherill, who confirmed a Northern Connector Jobs Taskforce will target the Salisbury, Playford and Port Adelaide Enfield council areas to match skills with new jobs.
Contractors will be obliged to take on workers from the wider industries affected by the car manufacturing shutdown he said.
“This taskforce will aim to ensure that more than 240 of the jobs go to workers from our northern suburbs,” said Mr Weatherill.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to make sure we make the transition for workers leaving one job but we are able to create a job (for them) in the Northern Connector.
“This is a consequence of the shakedown of car manufacturing industry. It doesn’t just affect Holden, it affects component workers and has knock-on effects. We must make sure jobs go to people affected by economic circumstances.”
The template for such allocation of jobs had been set by the Southern Expressway project, which ensured local workers were recruited where possible, he said.
“We saw with the southern Expressway that 90 per cent of jobs went to South Australians but also over 50 per cent were southern suburbs residents. That’s a great result. We want to replicate that result in northern suburbs.”
The jobs taskforce, led by the Little Para MP, Lee Odenwalder, will also ensure a minimum of 20 per cent of total labour hours are undertaken by apprentices and trainees, indigenous workers and people facing barriers to employment.
SA Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Stephen Mulligan, said the state and federal governments had committed to a $3 billion infrastructure spend through direct job creation and by providing productivity savings for businesses and commuters.
Lend Lease and a joint venture between Leighton Contractors and York Civil were confirmed as the two bidders short-listed for the design and construction of the Northern Connector.
Major works will begin in May next year with a December 2019 completion deadline.