[Sub ID 4295] Place-based jobseeker support and referral services for young parents (yourtown)

Submission ID: 4295
Organisation name: yourtown
Contact name: Mr Brendan Bourke
State: QLD
Contact email: bbourke@yourtown.com.au
Contact number: 0738671310

Summary:
yourtown believe there is a need to introduce the concept of future employment to young parents, well before their oldest child is 6 years old. In our experience young parents would benefit from accessing this information and planning how they can prepare for work (or re-engagement with education) at the earliest opportunity.

To address this challenge, yourtown propose a scalable, place-based initiative that builds the capacity of young parent program providers to better support young parents in planning and preparing for participation in employment and/or education. The initiative would be designed to complement government employment services/ programs.

Young parent programs would be mapped across a defined region, with a suite of face-to-face and online resources developed to train providers in supporting young parents for future participation in the workforce.

The aim would be to support workers to act as a soft point of contact for young parents; building their self-esteem and self-confidence towards taking the first steps to prepare for future workforce participation. This includes acting as a soft entry point to further support through local employment services/ programs.

The initiative will seek to link young parents’ programs with local employment services and supports to ensure a coordinated approach.