One door closes, another one opens on Murray Bridge's jobs market
The Bridgeport Hotel is hiring, offsetting the job losses expected soon at Big W's warehouse at Monarto.
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The new Bridgeport Hotel’s opening is still two months away, but Mary-Lou Corcoran hopes to start filling more than 150 jobs this week.
Anyone interested in working at the hotel should register online and come along to one of two information sessions this Friday.
Jobseekers will learn about the opportunities available – including the chance to gain a Certificate II in Hospitality before starting work – as well as the hiring process and the company’s expectations.
In the meantime, Ms Corcoran and her team have opened a recruitment office in the new rowing centre at Sturt Reserve, somewhere jobseekers can drop off resumes and have a chat.
Ms Corcoran said she hoped to find local takers for at least 90 per cent of the jobs available, including 40 traineeships and five apprenticeships.
She spoke to students at Murray Bridge High School about entry-level roles last week, and said she had been encouraged by their enthusiasm.
She has also targeted the 172 workers at Big W at Monarto who will be made redundant over the next two months as the company closes its warehouse there.
Sixty-eight had expressed their interest, she said, and several had already had job interviews.
“Our first contracts went to people from Big W,” she said.
“Most of them have got a very stable employment history and maturity – they’ll be good for mentoring some of the youth.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to absorb as many as we can into our team.”
The Woolworths Group announced the closure of Big W’s Monarto distribution centre back in 2019, in response to a review of the company which sought to make it more profitable and sustainable.
The Bridgeport Hotel redevelopment has been on the cards even longer than that – owners EDP Hotels were planning it seven years ago or more.
It is not the only major job-generating project on the horizon in the Murraylands, either.
Thomas Foods International will need about 500 workers at its new meat processing facility, just outside Murray Bridge, by the end of next year.
- Register for the Bridgeport Hotel information session: www.eventbrite.com.au.
