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Agreements have been signed with four purchasers for the sale of a number of Employment National's businesses, Minister for Finance and Administration Senator Nick Minchin says. This follows the announcement in May of the government's decision to sell the marketable parts of Employment National (EN) and wind-up the remainder of the loss-making company, which previously operated as the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES). "EN will earn several million dollars in proceeds and make large cost savings from the sale. Following wind-up, the Commonwealth will no longer be exposed to the losses that EN has incurred in recent years," Minchin says. Once completed, the sale will see the transfer of EN's Intensive Assistance, OzJobs and Harvest Services businesses as well as a significant part of its New Apprenticeships business. In addition, EN has entered into an agreement with one purchaser that may see a large number of EN's Job Matching sites transfer to new ownership, subject to the outcome of the next Job Network tender process. EN continues to explore options for the sale of other parts of its operations. Sale agreements have been signed with Jobfind Centres Australia for the Intensive Assistance and Job Matching in southern Western Australia; IMP Group (Australia) for Oz Jobs and Harvest Services; MEGT (Australia) for New Apprenticeships; and Australian Business Limited for New Apprenticeships. "These are all established providers in the recruitment industry," Minchin says. Total sale proceeds depend on outcomes of the next Job Network tenders and will therefore not be settled until tender outcomes are announced in March/April 2003. Nonetheless, EN expects total proceeds will amount to several million dollars and there will also be significant cost savings to its future operations.