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Redeploying job seekers to support Hunter Valley mining operations

May 14, 2020

The hospitality, retail and tourism sectors have been amongst the hardest hit by the current downturn caused by COVID-19 pandemic.  

In NSW’s Hunter Valley, the hospitality, retail and tourism sectors are one of the region’s largest employers, and as such, the economic and societal impacts on this important region were deeply felt.

Programmed is one of the Hunter Valley’s largest individual employers with a substantial portfolio of clients across the region, many within the mining industry.

Seen as an essential service in helping maintain the health of the Australian economy, mining businesses were accorded priority access to various support infrastructure such as additional PPE, safety equipment and temperature checking devices.

With the need for additional workplace health checks being both urgent and temporary in nature, we identified the need for Temperature and Wellness Check roles that could support the mining sector across the Hunter Valley region.

We reached out to local hospitality, tourism and retail business to seek applicants who may be interested in these roles.

As social distancing rules were tightened during March 2020, businesses had to respond quickly to the new rules and workplaces across Australia. Many found it a challenge to implement new procedures to enable continuity of operations.

By leveraging the strength of the Programmed brand and moving through the various advertising, screening, interviewing and testing stages in a timely fashion, we were able to fill these roles across the Hunter Valley, quickly and simply.

By the end of April 2020, Programmed had deployed 48 Temperature and Wellness Checkers across the Hunter Valley. All 48 roles were filled by employees who had previously been displaced from the hospitality, tourism and retail sector.

Our mining customers have been very impressed at the efficiency in the way that we were able to address this need for their sites, put the plan into action and ultimately, safeguard their operations.

Mining East General Manager Craig Allen said that we are proud to be able to help more people into work during this time and to continue to support the local Hunter Valley community in which we live and work.

‘This is also another great example of #greatwork by our Singleton branch who work tirelessly to support their local community and deliver rapid and innovative solutions for our mining customers.’


We’re here to help! If you’re looking for work, register your details, search and apply for jobs on Programmed GO, available free from your App store or visit jobs.programmed.com.au.

Need people? Contact us today to find out how we can support your business with a team of great people.

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