[Sub ID 4433] Identifying and mitigating risk factors among VET students (Policy Hack Table 1)

Submission ID: 4433
Organisation name: Policy Hack Idea Table 1 (students)

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?
The Priority Investment Approach Baseline Valuation identified that young people who do not finish their education and who are subsequently unemployed have a higher risk of poor life outcomes.
The Baseline Valuation found that 75 per cent of young people who received a student payment when aged 17 to 19 for vocational or tertiary study then did not complete their course of study, later experienced a long-term period on an unemployment payment.
While there are many reasons why some young students struggle to complete their studies, lack of connection with educational, social and workforce networks can exacerbate existing barriers to education completion and transition to employment.
This idea seeks to reduce the current levels of non-completion and subsequent unemployment of students in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.
This idea targets students in the VET sector as according to ABS statistics (6227.0 Education and Work, Australia, May 2016) a completed VET qualification significantly boosts employment prospects compared to where Year 12 is the highest level of education attained (around three-quarters VET graduates are employed compared to two-thirds of those with year 12 as their highest attainment).

What is your idea?
This idea would identify VET students at the time of enrolment who have key indicators of being at high risk of non-completion of their course. It aims to provide these students with access to peer support and industry-based mentors through a mix of face-to-face, telephone and online interactions.
This two-pronged approach is designed to provide support for these students, through early identification and intervention, to successfully complete their course and transition into employment. The program design would include mechanisms to ensure it is accessible to young people from diverse backgrounds, including those with disability and culturally and linguistically diverse young people.
The objective of this idea is to boost course completion rates and increase employability among identified ‘at risk’ VET students by providing them with opportunities to build connections to the contemporary labour market, as well as increase employability skills, confidence and resilience.