[Sub ID 4631] LifeFit Work Culture Talent Development Program (Aboriginal Resource Group Pty Ltd)

Submission ID: 4631
Organisation name: Aboriginal Resource Group Pty Ltd
Contact name: Mr Cory Robertson
State: NSW
Contact email: cory@aboriginalresourcegroup.com.au
Contact number: 0458060873

Which priority group of the Try, Test and Learn Fund does your idea support?
Young carers, Young parents, Young students at risk of long-term unemployment

What need or issue are you trying to address?
There is a need to build aspirations with Aboriginal young people and address barriers to employment. Aboriginal young people may also be young carers, young parents or young students at risk of long term unemployment. They may face additional barriers due to criminal history.

Aboriginal young people often take on carer roles within their families and community for younger siblings, people with disability or ageing relatives. However this may or may not be recognised by Centrelink through current receipt of the Carers Payment, but they remain at risk of receiving the Carers Payment before the age of 25. They face extreme difficulty transitioning toward employment due to additional responsibilities.

Australia currently has a 13% youth unemployment rate, however this rate is much higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders accounting for 10% of all young people not engaged in education or training (NEET) despite only making up for 3% of the youth population.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women also have nearly five times the teenage birth rate compared to all women in Australia.

What is your idea?
Provide Aboriginal Resource Group’s (ARG) LiFeFit Work Culture Talent Development Program to Aboriginal young people in the Youth on Track or the Joint Support Program in regional areas of New South Wales in partnership with Mission Australia (MA). The LifeFit Work Culture program consists of a targeted three day work readiness and aspiration building workshop including workplace exposure visits, links to local employers, psychometric testing and goal setting. This includes two units of nationally recognised qualifications and is followed by ongoing opportunities for mentoring and job pipeline opportunities.

ARG is an Aboriginal owned social business with strong connections to civil construction, mining and agriculture industries in regional NSW. We connect industry with young Indigenous talent and ensure young Aboriginal people are ready for the workforce with a contribution attitude and focus.

MA will provide ongoing support in addition to the case management provided through Youth on Track and the Joint Support Program to assist in maintaining and helping participants move towards achieving these aspirations. Additionally MA will seek volunteers from local business to provide additional one on one mentorship of program participants to encourage them to participate in work and further skills and compliance programs to realise these goals.