Lendlease Australia responds: jobs in Western Sydney

Lendlease Australia responds: jobs in Western Sydney

6 Oct 2020

Lendlease’s delivery of jobs across former Australian Defence Industries (ADI) land in Penrith has recently attracted media coverage. Specifically, these stories suggest Lendlease has not honoured a commitment to facilitate jobs delivery within the development.

The St Marys Development Agreement entered into by Lendlease and others required the preparation of an Employment Development Strategy (EDS). The EDS set job targets to be achieved across the ADI site and is reviewed regularly. These reviews are overseen by a committee, which includes senior members of Penrith and Blacktown city councils and the NSW Government. The next EDS review has commenced and will be published in coming months.

We continue to deliver on our commitment to help the Penrith and Blacktown communities upskill and secure employment, as outlined in the EDS, including through the creation of jobs across the ADI site. Lendlease’s continued development of the ADI site will significantly contribute to further employment opportunities for the community into the future.

Further demonstrating our commitment, in 2005 Lendlease established the St Marys Skilling and Employment Centre, which has assisted close to 6,000 locals in securing employment over the last 13 years, a rate of more than a job a day. Even despite COVID-19, the Centre placed around 330 jobs in the year to 30 June 2020.

We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the local community, councils and government to help this important part of Greater Western Sydney reach its full potential.