Following its launch in August 2021, Jobfind’s Youth Employment Consortium of partners has kept powering ahead to deliver innovative employment programs to help more young people access skills and jobs.
Despite COVID-19 lockdowns, our partners and participants showed great resilience to engage online and face-to-face with several local pre-employment opportunities.
Here’s just a snapshot of recent activities:
Ladder Step-Up Program
Jobfind and Ladder Community Partnerships continue to collaborate to deliver a bespoke Ladder Step-Up program for our young jobactive participants.
Ladder Step-Up is a group mentoring program for youth to build their competencies across key life domains. Young people aged 16-25 years participate in five group sessions covering:
- Goal setting
- Independence and routine
- Career pathways and job search
- Mental health and self-care
- How to write a resume and cover letter
- Preparing for job interviews and mock interviews
As a bonus for participants, Ladder’s presenters and development coaches include heroes of sport including AFL players Easton Wood (WBFC), Trent Jollow (ANZ), and cricketer Guy Walker.
Raf Matta is Jobfind’s Youth Engagement Coach and says the bespoke program with Ladder is targeted to the needs of young people who are looking for work. “This program gives them a lot of practical information and skills and also improves their confidence to apply for jobs and present well at interviews,” says Raf.
Two of Jobfind’s young job seekers have completed the program.
Ben, aged 19, completed the program in November 2021 and started working part-time in a warehouse:
“I received a lot of knowledge that I will use for my future and would recommend this short program to people who are having trouble finding a job.”
Youth career advice sessions
Jobfind, together with apprenticeship providers MAS National and MEGT Australia, facilitated several information sessions for young people to explore career options including apprenticeships and traineeships.
Raf says: “Many of our jobactive participants dropped out of school early and don’t know how to re-engage with training and education that leads to a job. These career sessions help them understand a variety of career pathways that they can access straight away.”
The fun and interactive sessions include:
- Careers quiz
- Apprenticeship and Traineeship opportunities
- How to register on Jobs Boards
- Where to find employer vacancies
Feedback from participants has been incredibly positive, with young job seekers reporting it gives them a good starting point to explore their career options. “Once they get started and upload their resume to a jobs board, they could be one day away from meeting the right employer,” says Raf.
Of the 46 young people who have attended eight sessions since November 2021, 32 have started either an apprenticeship or traineeship, have undertaken further studies or are now in paid work.
In 2022, Jobfind plans to offer sessions twice a month from its Airport West and Richmond locations.
Concern Australia hand brake turn program
Concern Australia joined the Youth Employment Consortium late December 2021 and is already customising one of their extraordinarily successful programs for Jobfind.
Concern’s popular Hand Brake Turn program has trained more than 10,000 students in motor mechanics.
A new 3-day program will be trialled with Jobfind participants in April 2022 and will give participants a taster of motor mechanics with hands-on instruction from qualified mechanics and cars on site.
“It’s great that we have received a lot of interest from girls who want to enrol in the program,” says Raf.
Mission Engage pre-employment program
This deep dive pre-employment program gives our young jobactive participants hands-on experience with Mission Engage’s corporate partners such as Crown Hotels, Wilson Security and Bendigo Bank.
During the month-long program, participants are based at Crown College, and join off-site visits to participating employers where they tour workplaces, observe staff on the job, get priority access to current vacancies and practise mock interviews with real employers.
This foot-in-the-door exposure gives young people the opportunity to learn directly from hiring recruiters about how to get their CV noticed, excel in an interview, and avoid common job application mistakes.
So far, the program has generated strong placement rates with job candidates well-prepared to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.
Throughout 2022, Jobfind and Mission Engage plan to offer four pre-employment programs to Melbourne job seekers, with the first intake in March 2022.
“I’m pleased to say that Mission Engage is already producing promising results, and the partnership program is starting to shape the lives of our young job seekers we work with every day,” says Raf.
