The Federal Government has announced it will invest a further $15.1 million to assist the Ford employees who will be effected by the recent announcement that the motor giant will be cutting all manufacturing works in the country.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that the funding comes in addition to the $30 million for economic development and diversification in the local Geelong and North West Melbourne communities and the $10 million for the Automotive New Markets Program. Five million dollars will be immediately set aside from the National Workforce Development Fund (NWDF) for Auto Skills Australia, an Industry Skills Council, to coordinate labour adjustment activities, and provide career advice services and training to supplement employment support services. The fund will also support communities to identify how they will respond to this significant adjustment in the local economy.

A further $5 million from future years’ NWDF allocations will be set aside for the future skills needs of the automotive sector should further assistance be required.

For the first time, the Gillard Government has established Geelong as a Priority Employment Area. This will bring the total number of Priority Employment Areas across the nation to 21.