The Andrews Labor Government is giving more Victorian women the training, upskilling and job readiness support they need to get into the workforce, with more funding to support women facing difficulties finding work.

Minister for Women Natalie Hutchins visited Fitted For Work in Richmond to announce the Labor Government is investing a further $200,000 in the Women’s Work Futures program – supporting women’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

The investment will see a one-year extension of the program – doubling the number of women it can support to help more than 600 participants over a two-year period into employment through its recruitment social enterprise She Works.

Fitted for Work is a not-for-profit dedicated to helping Australian women who experience disadvantage get back to work through outfitting and job readiness services including interview tips and techniques, as well as recruitment and mentoring opportunities.

The organisation helps women overcome the ways traditional hiring practices do not adequately address diversity or create barriers to employment including lack of networks and digital skills – barriers that have only increased during the pandemic.

The program has already supported more than 300 women through its job-readiness services, with more than a third of those having already found secure work since it began and the rest well on the way to a new job.

Fitted for Work was one of six organisations to receive a share of $1.1 million in Labor Government funding in February 2022, helping women overcome barriers to economic security amid the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Victorian women.

The funding delivers on an investment in the Victorian Budget 2020/21 to improve outcomes for women in Victoria and strengthen economic recovery, including the delivery of targeted economic security programs to support women into employment.

The additional funding for Women’s Work Futures brings the Labor Government’s overall investment in the program to $420,000 over two years.