KOMATSU INSPIRES YOUNG AUSTRALIANS

Komatsu Australia continues to play an important role in supporting our young people with jobseekers battling the fallout from the global financial crisis as new figures reveal a surge in youth unemployment. Youth unemployment rate for 15-to-19 year-olds

The Company's support for Beacon's flagship program 'No Dole' which guides young people onto a positive pathway of further education, employment and training has continued across all states, through a variety of activities.

These activities included:

Involvement with charter-signings and business breakfast activities around the country.

Inviting students from Newcastle, Hunter and Central Coast high schools to attend the Komatsu Open day at Tomago & Mt Thorley Plants.

Providing students withwork experience opportunities.

Komatsu staff participated in the pilot of the 'Komatsu Expo' at Loganlea State High School in Queensland with over100 students involved in the very interactive hands-on program.

Brad Worth, apprentice diesel mechanic at Dandenong (ex Western Port Secondary College student) was a guest speaker at their Charter Event in June 2009.

Komatsu's on-going financial and in-kind support has contributed to Beacon's success in 2009 which saw over 10,000 young people participate in the No Dole program helping young Australians to connect with industry, find jobs and stay off the dole.

This partnership in action saw Luke Robey a Year 12 student from Wadlalba Community College secured an apprenticeship with Komatsu Tomago. Luke attended the Beacon Foundation/Komatsu work experience program last year and was invited back for an interview after impressing the Komatsu Management team.

Luke was one of 13 students from the Beacon Foundations No Dole schools on the Central Coast, Hunter and Port Stephens regions who participated in the program. Luke says that he was offered the opportunity through his school Wadalba Community college on the Central Coast.

There are now 120 schools involved in Beacon's No Dole program across Australia with 7 new schools added in the first quarter of 2010.

2010 is shaping up to be another exciting year for Beacon with the rollout of the No Dole program across the Pilbara including Port Hedland and Karratha. The Pilbara rollout will have a special focus on Indigenous school leavers and will draw on Beacon's experience assisting 3 schools in the midlands region of Perth since 2005, successfully helping Indigenous young people prepare for work and identify potential career paths.

The year ahead will see Beacon gaining greater program consistency and efficiency nationally with the development of the No Dole program logic model used to program outcomes with program outputs.