Minister for Employment Bill Shorten has today congratulated the top 50 of BRW’s annual Best Place to Work list, and encouraged Australian employers and employees to look to these workplaces for lessons on how to improve their own.

 The Minister also gave special mention of the winner of this year’s Best Place to Work, Melbourne based IT firm OBS.

 “I have today rung the managing director of OBS, Andy Neuman, to personally offer my congratulations to him and his team,” the Minister said.

 “He told me the secret of their success was fundamentally to be honest with people, build trust with staff, be collaborative and create energy from staff who feel engaged.”

 “I absolutely believe that what everyone wants in life is a good job,” the Minister said.

 “A good job is one which employees and employers want to turn up to every day.  It's one where teamwork is paramount, where everyone’s insights are valued.  It's where the whole team feels empowered.  It's where you feel that you're getting skills development.”

 “A good job is one in which the whole workplace is constantly seeking to innovate.”

 “These things are where productivity in the workplace lie.”

 The Gillard Government is committed to helping workplaces create good jobs through its $3 billion investment in the Building Australia’s Future Workforce measures.

 “This is a major package of reforms announced as part of the 2011-12 Federal Budget, and is one of the largest training and workforce participation packages in Australia’s history with a $3 billion investment over six years,” Mr Shorten said.

 “This Government is committed to protecting jobs and maximising our productive workforce capacity, and these new measures, which start on 1 July, reflect that,” Mr Shorten said.

 Mr Shorten’s Media Contact: Sam Casey 0421 697 660