[Sub ID 4190] Wraparound support services for Job Seekers (Jewish Care Victoria Inc)

Submission ID: 4190
Organisation name: Jewish Care Victoria Inc.
Contact name: Mr Simon Jedwab
State: VIC
Contact email: sjedwab@jewishcare.org.au
Contact number: 0409802135

Which priority group of the Try, Test and Learn Fund does your idea support?
Young carers, Young parents

What need or issue are you trying to address?
Job seekers that have never worked or been out of the workforce for long periods of time find it difficult to enter or re-enter employment. It becomes even more challenging when they also possess few transferable skills or training alongside their caring responsibilities and other barriers to manage. People in this situation rarely have the confidence, insight or motivation to be able to develop any sort of employment pathway plan.

It is our observation that little or no experience in the workplace means that they often also lack a wide variety of soft employability skills such as communication, problem solving, planning, self-management and have not kept up with technological advances. They require a range of supporting services to address the barriers to training or work that they face before they can embark on a vocational pathway.
In the case of carers whether of family members or small children there are a number of issues to deal with, namely organising the support of those they care for while they are engaged in training, job seeking and then once working. Alongside issues of confidence and motivation to get engaged ongoing support is required to handle crises that inevitably arise. It is perhaps these resilience issues that need the most attention.

What is your idea?
As a vocation professional caring for people with a disability or the elderly provides the sort of work that can be full or part time and is secure in that it is in an industry that is expected to expand in the future i.e. an increase of 30.6% by 2020 (Australian Jobs, 2016, Department of Employment). This work can also open up a career path into other roles such as allied health occupations such as case management or nursing. This idea is to provide support to single mothers or young carers to study a Certificate 3 or 4 in Individual Support and then help for them to enter the industry. The support would consist of arranging and subsidising child care in the case of single mothers or providing professional support for the people being cared for while the participant trains. The concept includes having a support worker across the program to provide social case management to the young person while they are engaged in the program. Most of the cost of the courses themselves would be covered by the Victorian Government Training Guarantee.