04 Oct 2017 Border Mail, Albury-Wodonga (General News) SEVENTY-FIVE people will be supported to gain employment or training as part of a $3.6 million boost to Wodonga TAFE from the state government. The Skills First Reconnect program will receive part of the funding and filter through to organisations across the North East, who deal directly with community members seeking employment support. TAFEs skills and job centre manager Jennifer Gordon said $600,000 would enable facilities including the Corryong Community Centre and Quercus Beechworth to further support disengaged community members. The $600,000 will go to three local government areas Indigo, Towong and Alpine, she said. Twenty-five places in each shire will reconnect these individuals into training or employment. Ms Gordon said the program, running until 2019, would benefit 75 people. This is the second time it has run before, it was called back to work reconnect and it was targeting disengaged young people, who were not in school, employment or training. This Reconnect program still includes them, but has now extended to cover 20 to 64-year-olds, who have been out of work for 12 months or more. Northern Victoria MLC Jaclyn Symes met with some of the providers who will work with TAFE on the Reconnect project on Tuesday. Ms Symes said other beneficiaries of the funding would include Learn Local organisations, the Institute Enterprise Access Program, and the Wodonga Skills and Jobs Centre, which has helped more than 650 people since it opened last year. The Albury Wodonga Regional Foodshare will also be be provided with discounted access to warehouse space at the TAFE, she said. ELLEN EBSARY Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.