The University of Newcastle, Australia

Delegates and speakers from across the world will converge on the University Newcastle next week to discuss the far-reaching consequences of the current global financial crisis on employment.

The Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE) at the University of Newcastle will host the international conference Labour Underutilisation, Skill Shortages and Social Inclusion. The conference incorporates the annual 10th Path to Full Employment Conference and the 15th National Conference on Unemployment.

CofFEE Director, Professor Bill Mitchell, said the conference was timely as it aimed to compel policy-makers to move the economy back to full employment.

"Given the current financial crisis pushing most of the world economies into recession, the need for decisive fiscal policy action is required.

"The Australian Government must prioritise job creation and the restoration of degenerated public infrastructure and protect the most disadvantaged workers from the perils of unemployment.

"Academics, policy makers, service providers and social activists from across Australia and around the world are examining approaches to achieve full employment."

The conference will cover issues such as: full employment; job guarantees; underemployment; social inclusion policy; regional labour market disparities; long-term youth, disabled and Indigenous unemployment; and Welfare to Work.

Keynote speakers: Thursday 4 December 2008

Dr Bob Birrell is Director of the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Monash University, and a member of the Department of Education, Science and Training's International Education Advisory body. He will discuss the labour market implications of the review of Australian higher education.

Mr Ton van der Bruggen, senior consultant for Dutch electricity company Philips Electrical and NUON, has worked as the manager of the Netherlands' most successful employment project - The Philips Employment Scheme. He will discuss socially responsible entrepreneurship in the Netherlands.

Friday 5 December 2008

Professor Robert McCutcheon, from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, will discuss the generation of productive employment opportunities for the unskilled: principles, potential and pitfalls of labour intensive construction.

CofFEE Director Professor Bill Mitchell will introduce work on new functional statistical regions within Australia. This work will be of use to local governments, industry and researchers throughout Australia and provides an improved basis for assembling regional socio-economic statistics and datasets to that available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

A full conference program can be viewed at http://e1.newcastle.edu.au/coffee/

The conference is being held on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 December 2008 on Level 2 of the General Purpose (GP) Building at the University of Newcastle, Newcastle campus (at Callaghan). A public forum on the global financial crisis will be held at 4.15pm on Thursday 4 December 2008.