Locals signing up for jobs at new goat works

nt of people to run the North Bourke goat abattoir is going great guns according to a senior staff member for the new owner – Thomas Foods International (TFI).

Group Operations Transformation Manager for TFI, Bill Adcock, visited Bourke last week and said that the company had received many applications and expressions of interest from the Bourke area and from southwest Queensland.

“There have been a lot of enquiries for technical jobs from overseas, but there has also been interest from Sydney and Adelaide with a few people putting their hands up.

“The response from the local Bourke community has been outstanding – we have received a lot of enquiries from young guys in town wanting to work and people that used to work here wanting to come back.

“There have been about 30 applications from the local area so far; and we now have a maintenance manager, and a plant manager has received an offer,” he said.

Thomas Foods International will be holding a job fair in Bourke to attract further interest from anyone wanting to secure a job at the abattoir.

“We are excited about the job fair as it will give locals an opportunity to see what we have to offer and the opportunity to lodge an application,” Mr Adcock said.

“At this stage we are still to nail down a date, but it could coincide with the Bourke Show.

“As far as jobs are concerned, we are starting from scratch and will start slowly, with an initial 50 or 60 people and build up as people are trained and production increases.

“The $1500 sign-on incentive is a great initiative from Thomas Foods, not too many companies offer that.

“It’s not an upfront payment, it’s paid incrementally over a 12-month period and it’s great for young people to know they receive an extra $1500 just for signing up to work.

“If you are a person onsite working for us and you refer another person you can receive an additional $1500 as well.

“We have had great support from the community in helping us – guys in town like Robbie Newton and Mark Riley, General Manager of the Bourke Shire Council, have been really supportive of what we are doing and getting the place up and running again.

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