The National Youth Employment Body

The NYEB is an example of how employers are collaborating to help young people in their local areas into jobs and build a workforce that has the skills to meet their business needs. For example, through COVID-19 the demand for aged and disability care workers has spiked. The NYEB helped to link up aged and disability care providers, youth employment specialists and training providers. The group worked together to engage unemployed young people in aged and disability care jobs, supporting them with entry-level skills and setting them up with the foundations to move into a range of other high-demand jobs in the care sector in the future.

A National Entry to Care Roles trial was completed by 82 young people and a funded pilot to develop young people’s capabilities in the agricultural sector across the Barwon South-West region of Victoria is also underway. An example of this is the AgFutures project which is enabling dairy farmers and local young people to have a direct say in the design of skills pathways leading to jobs on local farms.

With funding from our partner, the Paul Ramsay Foundation, the NYEB expanded in this last financial year to seven additional key youth unemployment hotspots across Australia.

The NYEB has also been involved with the development and trialling of a Youth Opportunity Compass statistical tool that aligns entry-level training supply to reflect local job opportunities in Warrnambool and Logan. The tool provides demographics on age, diversity and school attainment and BSL is currently seeking funding for the next stage.

Learn more about the NYEB approach, aims, demonstration sites and publications on the  NYEB website .

The National Skills Trial

Young people are often unable to take up training and job opportunities because they’re isolated from essential services. The lack of affordable transport, health care, housing, and early childhood education, particularly in regional and remote areas, cuts off young people’s life chances. BSL’s work spans the areas of education, employment, leaving care and custody, and homelessness and housing, with the aim of expanding the availability of specialist employment assistance to young people so that they are fit for the future.

BSL is advocating for reforms to the training system that allows young people equal access to meaningful and decent work while building a skilled and adaptable workforce for employers and industry in local communities.

In 2021 our Youth team conducted system design workshops for the Agriculture and Horticulture, Care, Transport and Logistics industries. The workshops are summarised in system design placemats and key findings were presented at the AVETRA symposium in April. AVETRA (Australasian Vocational Education and Training Research Association) is Australasia’s only independent association for research in vocational education and training.

Our AVETRA presentation focussed on strengthening the role of vocational training for young people and called for new ways of improving VET to ensure all young people develop the industry-specific, technical and general employability skills and competence they need to be secure and mobile in their careers.

SPARC also produced a new series of publications, ‘Skills and training for young people', which explores the weaknesses of the current system and proposes a new approach, based on international evidence, that can make a difference in opportunities for young Australians. Unlocking the potential of Australian apprenticeships examines how, despite being the most common form of employment-based training, Australian apprenticeships are not living up to their promise. As we emerge from the economic and social disruption of the pandemic, now more than ever Australia needs a VET system that looks to the future of the country’s clean-energy transformation and focuses on building the capability, not just the skills, of individuals and communities for navigating that transition.

Advantaged Thinking

BSL has been supporting community sector organisations around Tasmania through the development and implementation of a roadmap to transition their youth accommodation services into Education First Youth Foyers . Developed by BSL in partnership with Launch Housing, The Education First Youth Foyer model works to break the cycle of homelessness by providing young people aged 16-24 with study and career pathways along with safe, secure and affordable accommodation on a TAFE campus for up to two years.

Rather than focusing on the challenges a student might have faced, the program adopts an ‘Advantaged Thinking’ approach, which supports students’ talents, strengths and goals. This approach is a shift in the way we think about and respond to young people experiencing disadvantage and exclusion. Youth Foyers have successfully broken cycles of disadvantage and transitioned young people into independence, with a majority achieving private rental housing outcomes, attaining higher levels of education, and securing employment. Most recently, BSL has been advocating for the growth and development of Youth Foyers nationally in collaboration with the Foyer Foundation and the Foyer Investment network.

We also adopted an Advantaged Thinking approach for our Better Futures program - a new way of supporting young people who are making the transition from out-of-home care to independence. BSL’s Youth team is working in partnership with the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to develop this new service delivery model and has facilitated a community of practice that is participating in a new regional collaboration initiative to further embed Advantaged Thinking practice in their work. There are now over 30 Better Futures providers state-wide.

Pathways to Employment

This year BSL delivered Pathways to Employment - an employment support project in the Hume region of north-west Melbourne - that trialled a program model for adapting and extending the  Transition to Work (TtW)  services to meet the needs of young people with disability. This past financial year, among the 38 young people participating in this trial, there were 15 employment outcomes, 16 training/education outcomes and 11 work experience outcomes.

Youth Transitions

While many young people of refugee and migrant backgrounds are ready and willing to work, it is common to encounter structural, language and cultural barriers that make finding and accessing employment challenging. Developing community networks, learning a new language, and navigating new systems are some of the key foundational activities that young people undertake during their settlement

Employing an Advantaged Thinking approach, BSL works with these young people to identify their aspirations, provide meaningful vocational pathways and connect them to employment opportunities. With funding from the federal Department of Home Affairs (DoHA), BSL has been delivering the Youth Transitions Support Services Pilot Program (YTSP) since 2016. The service offers newly arrived young people of refugee backgrounds aged between 15 – 25 years targeted assistance to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to access the system, improve their workplace readiness and secure employment. It does this by tapping into local expertise, and pooled resources and developing authentic collaboration among local services, including council, settlement providers, and ethno-specific agencies.

From 2020 to June 2022, DoHA funded BSL to deliver the Youth Hubs Trial . Youth Hubs assist young migrants, aged 12 to 21 years, to prepare for employment and training. This improves their access to and engagement with government services. Youth Hubs also offer some services to non-youth clients, such as families or communities of young people, including employment information and advice.

In the past financial year, 1,645 young people were engaged in Youth Hub activities. There was a total of 760 sessions with a focus on education and skills training, social participation and facilitating employment and English language pathways.

The YTSP is currently funded until June 2023, with BSL working closely with the DoHA and local and national partners to advocate for these programs to be expanded to cover regional areas. BSL has provided feedback to the Commonwealth on the next steps for settlement grants requesting an ongoing youth offer which will ensure all young people of refugee and migrant backgrounds continue to get the support they need to improve their social, educational and economic participation. These programs provide significant economic and social returns across the community which lead to long-term community settlement and greater social cohesion.

Lina kick starts her career through BSL Youth Hubs

Lina* is a Youth Transition Support (YTS) program participant, who arrived as a refugee from Afghanistan with her family in 2021. Already proficient in English from her studies, Lina was actively engaged in employment from a young age back in her homeland, teaching English to primary school students in an after-school program, and later working in administration at the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan. Lina was in her first year of Business Administration studies - her dream was to pursue a career in this field - when she and her family had to flee Afghanistan.

Shortly after arriving in Melbourne, Lina was referred to BSL’s Youth Hubs. After identifying Lina’s skills and aspirations, she was invited to submit an expression of interest for a new program - Kick Start Your Career - delivered by BSL and aimed at providing local work experience to newly arrived young people in an industry or sector of their choice.

Following the recruitment process, Lina was successful in gaining a place in the program. In preparation for the work experience, Lina was assigned a Youth Development Coach who supported her with employment preparation workshops to build her skills and capabilities.

Working with her coach, Lina restructured her resume to better represent her skills and experience, learnt how to write cover letters and address key selection criteria, as well as develop her interview skills to illustrate her skills and strengths. She was then offered work experience with Banksia Gardens Community Services as an Administrative Assistant at the front desk and completed 150 hours there.

Lina also assisted with art programs at Hume Central Secondary College, and a Mindfulness program at Meadows Primary school. In recognition of her achievements in providing a positive role model to other young people in the wider community, Lina was invited to share her story at a Refugee Week Celebration hosted by HOST International, Adult Migrant Education Service (AMES) and BSL.

As her work experience was ending, Lina expressed a desire to return to her studies. BSL has a long-standing partnership with the Next Step program at Kangan Institute, a free service for those aged 15 to 24 who are looking for advice on study pathway options and career planning. Next Step was able to suggest suitable courses and fee support options and Lina is currently completing a Certificate 3 in Business Administration at Kangan.

These opportunities and experiences have all contributed to Lina improving her self-confidence, gaining greater belief in her skills and strengths and feeling more comfortable asking for support when she needs it. Throughout her work experience with Banksia Gardens, Lina received so much praise and acknowledgement for her approach to work, adaptability and interpersonal skills that she was offered part-time employment as an Administrative Assistant.

Lina’s story and her journey across BSL’s Youth programs are illustrative of the importance of newly arrived young people having access to streamlined supports that believe and invest in them and harness the community effort to provide opportunities that help them achieve sustainable and meaningful pathways into employment.

Being a part of this program helped me build my confidence by meeting new people. I also learned that it is ok if you don’t know something, or are new to a skill, because there is always someone to help you.

Learn more about how we support young people:  https://www.bsl.org.au/services/youth/