The Belmont Jobs Expo was launched in 2024 to bring together local employers and residents.
Following on in 2025, it has seen approximately 1,500 attendees since its inception, helping numerous residents with their resumés, and connecting Belmont businesses to a new workforce
Project cost
$5,000
The budget covered costs such as catering, refreshments, merchandise, advertising and photography. There was no need to pay consultant fees for the event organiser as they received Federal funding.
Project timeframe
The expo date was set 4-5 months prior to the event to secure the date and commitment for attendance from three schools. Planning, organising and marketing of the event took approximately one month.
What was the problem or opportunity being addressed?
The City of Belmont is home to a multicultural and diverse community with a wide range of skills and backgrounds. While 35.7% of residents hold a diploma, degree, or higher qualification, the local unemployment rate (5.6%) is slightly above the Greater Perth average (5.3%). A key challenge is the mismatch between local jobs and resident skills. Only 21.4% of Belmont’s employed residents work locally, with 78.6% commuting elsewhere for work. This indicates that many local jobs are filled by non-residents, and local skills are underutilised. Cultural barriers such as language and literacy also prevent some highly qualified individuals from working in their trained professions, leading them to take jobs in unrelated sectors.
How the project addressed the problem or opportunity
A Jobs Expo was identified as a valuable opportunity to connect local employers with local jobseekers and better align skills with employment opportunities. This resulted in the City of Belmont partnering with a company called Eighty9 to assist in the Expo’s delivery. The inaugural Jobs Expo was launched in 2024 and in 2025 ran for its second year. The City acted as the facilitator of the event, offering a venue, assisting with getting local businesses on board as exhibitors (together with the consultant), consulting with the local schools to attend and marketing and catering for the event.
The event provided the opportunity for Belmont residents and jobseekers to:
- Meet local employers and connect with businesses actively seeking candidates. An electronic Jobs Board and a conventional Jobs Board listed job opportunities from the participating exhibitors.
- Learn about local businesses, gaining insights into the companies operating in the Belmont area.
- Apply for current vacancies, with an interview room set up for on-the-spot interviews.
- Get professional resume advice, including resume reviews.
- Find local training organisations to help attendees prepare for their next career step.
Project outcomes
The 2025 event saw approximately 700 attendees come through on the day, with around 60 exhibitors. Around 50% of the respondents did not have employment and were seeking employment, and approximately 60% wanted to connect with employers for future opportunities.
The resume reviews were particularly helpful to those attending, with 43 people assisted by the volunteers, and follow-up meetings arranged for those that could not be assisted on the day
Lessons learnt
- Post-event surveys from both exhibitors and job seekers provided valuable insights into what worked well and areas for improvement.
- Feedback highlighted the value of the event in helping people find jobs, network, and connect with local employers.
- Many appreciated the opportunity to match skills with job openings and engage directly with businesses in their area.
- To enhance future events, surveys will be expanded to gather more detailed data and support benchmarking. This could include increasing staff or volunteers to assist attendees and improve the accuracy of attendance counts. Although there were 1,300 registrations, only 700 attendees were recorded — likely due to staff being occupied with other tasks.
- Additional signage was recommended. Timing may have also impacted attendance – the 2025 Expo coincided with Federal and State elections and followed Easter/school holidays, resulting in lower turnout compared to 2024 (which had over 900 attendees and around 70 exhibitors).
