Five months after Hazelwood coal-fired power station closed, hundreds of workers are still looking for a job, but at least 25 of them are back in business.
The team of 25 has started work at AGL's nearby Loy Yang A power station under a state government-assisted scheme that plans to find at least 150 jobs in the same industry for former Hazelwood workers.
When the plant closed in March it left 450 employees and 300 contractors out of a job.
Through the government's Latrobe Valley Authority's worker transition service, 871 people have registered for support, many whom are getting training and employment support.
AGL is expected to open another 40 positions by the end of 2017, while Engie and Energy Australia have also agreed to take part in the scheme.
"Many people doubted that this day would ever occur, there were many people who said it was too complex, there was no template for this to occur," Employment Minister Wade Noonan told reporters in the Latrobe Valley on Wednesday.
"I think the objective was really clear - let's keep this simple, let's work on the basis that if you've got an ageing workforce, across the generators there will be some looking at retirement and there will be others coming out of Hazelwood with plenty of working life in them."
The Andrews government has put $20 million into the scheme to transfer retrenched Hazelwood workers into power industry jobs over the next two years by offering workers at other generators early retirement packages.
The government funds employers for each Hazelwood worker they take on, partly offsetting the retirement scheme.
AGL's expression-of-interest process for early retirement closed in May, attracting 142 applications.
