[Sub ID 4843] Social Procurement to assist young people (Penny Crittall)

Submission ID: 4843
Organisation name: Bridging the Gap
Contact name: Ms Penny Crittall
State: WA
Contact email: penny.crittall@bridgingthegap.org.au
Contact number: 0894192553

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

What need or issue are you trying to address?
This project will help young students who do not transition into employment because they have failed to complete their studies and are at risk of becoming long term unemployed at a cost of $97 billion in welfare payments.

These students may be from a low social-economic backgrounds where there are few role models for education and employment. Or they may be studying part time and be under- employed. Under-employment is a result of the types of jobs open to young people based on their lack of experience and lack of education. Both under-employment and unemployment have a deleterious effect on a young person’s financial and psychological well-being.

Because young students have low skills and little to no work experience, finding sustainable work in a competitive job market can lead to long term unemployment. In addition, having little purpose and not much hope for the future can result in substance abuse, mental illness, a general lethargy and low self-worth.

This project uses a targeted social procurement model, implemented via local government, to leverage their buying power for goods and services in order to ensure that suppliers of these goods and services also provide social outcomes consisting of training and employment opportunities for young students.

What is your idea?
Social procurement is a dimension of sustainable and responsible purchasing and procurement practices that assist organisations achieve the ‘social’ element of their triple bottom line. It is proposed that the local Shire Councils implement a social procurement model so that suppliers of goods and services to Shire Councils will be obligated to provide training and employment opportunities for young students. The size of the contract will determine the number of young people that will be given an opportunity, and this will be stipulated in the selection criteria of the procurement process.

This model can be extended and applied to land development approvals. Land Developers will be under contractual obligation to provide training and employment opportunities to the target group depending on the estimated value generated as a result of the planning approval.

Training and employment outcomes will be managed through RTOs, job active agencies, DES agencies and youth networks. It will be the responsibility of these organisations to ensure that the young person is work ready. This may involve a two week work preparation course with hard skills and soft skills (self-esteem, goal setting & motivation, communication skills, stress management), skills audit, career planning and other relevant industry tickets.

All trainees will be linked with volunteer mentors.