The abattoir was named the NSW/ACT winner of Mission Australia Employment Solutions’ inaugural Employer Award, beating dozens of other candidates including supermarket giant Woolworths.

The employment agency first started working with Southern Meats 11 years ago and their relationship has been mutually beneficial.

Over the last four years, Southern Meats has employed 140 jobseekers through Mission Australia, with 40 taken on this financial year alone.

Mission Australia’s Employment Solutions’ business manager for Southern Ranges, Corryn Webb, said the local business had demonstrated diversity through their recruitment processes and a willingness to work collaboratively to assist jobseekers overcome their barriers to work.

“Southern Meats has employed jobseekers with a range of backgrounds including refugee and new arrival migrants, mature age workers who’ve been made redundant from other industries, early school leavers with little or no work experience,” she said.

“They recognise that training doesn’t stop once employment begins and that some barriers can take time to overcome. They have demonstrated ongoing commitment to improving the employability skills of their workers through activities such as organised literacy programs.”

Ms Webb also said the abattoir had made an outstanding contribution to the community and regional economy through its commitment to local jobs.

“It was a tough field, but Southern Meats stood out for their dedication in helping local job seekers turn their lives around,” Ms Webb said.

“Giving someone a job provides financial security and self-confidence; it also produces a tremendously positive ripple effect for families and the broader community. Southern Meats has gone above and beyond to help our job seekers and it’s great to be able to recognise this effort on a national stage.”

Southern Meats occupational health and safety/human resources manager Claire Graham told the Post that 2011 was the toughest year they had ever faced, with the drought breaking and a shortage of lambs on the market forcing them to shut down operations.

However, management made every effort to support their employees through it.

“During the three month shut down we worked closely with Mission Australia and state training services to increase the employability of our workers with the intent for them to find work with other local employers, so they could remain in the area and hopefully restart with Southern Meats when it reopened,” Ms Graham said.

This included employees entering the learning literacy and numeracy program as well as more than 100 qualifications/ tickets being gained including HR Truck Licences, Certificate Three in Aged Care and folk lift, bobcat and excavator licences.

Ms Graham said early forecasts indicated next year would be a good season, which could see higher rates of employment.

She said they believed heavily in employing locals and supporting the local economy.

“If you’re earning money locally it allows you and your family to live locally. They earn locally, they live locally and they spend locally,” she said.

Southern Meats supports a number of school leavers and has a good reputation for paying competent juniors senior wages.