Govt calls for companies to deliver services to help early school leavers get jobs

THE Australian Government is calling on organisations that are well connected in their community to tender to deliver services especially designed to get young early school leavers into jobs.

Minister for Employment, Senator Michaelia Cash today released the Request for Proposal for Transition to Work 2016-2020. The Transition to Work service will target those aged 15 to 21 who are out of work and not engaged in education.

"The Government is committed to ensuring that every Australian who can work is able to find work," Minister Cash said.

"The best form of welfare is work.

"This is particularly the case with young Australians – they are the future of the nation, our businesses and our economy, however they are over represented in the unemployment figures.

"The Australian Government is not prepared to stand by while a generation of young Australians remain without gainful employment.

"Early intervention can mean the difference between a young person taking their first steps into productive and happy working lives – or entering a life of welfare dependency.

"That’s why we’re investing $322 million in the Transition to Work service, to find the best organisations to deliver results for both young people and taxpayers," Minister Cash said.

The Government has taken on board feedback received on the Transition to Work Service Exposure Draft to support greater flexibility for service providers and young people looking to access the service.

The Transition to Work service will provide intensive, pre-employment support to improve the work readiness of young people and to help them into work (including Apprenticeships and Traineeships) or education.

The service will be rolled out between January and April 2016 and it is expected that providers will leverage off their existing knowledge and experience in the youth sector to enable young people to become more work-ready.

"A recent survey by the Department of Employment of 3,000 Australian employers found many young people require support to acquire the core skills that employers require," Minister Cash said.

"This includes improving literacy and numeracy skills, engaging in the workplace and understanding the value of working in a team situation."

"Employers also mentioned that young people need to better tailor their application to the position for which they are applying."

To address these issues organisations will be expected to deliver individually tailored services for young people to help them move into work or further education.

Providers will be required to have regular contact with participants and assist them with a range of services including:

• developing a Job Plan setting out the types of services the participant will receive and the activities the job seeker will undertake to improve their work readiness
• assistance with vocational skills development, for example support to address language and literacy issues, to undertake training relating to a specific job, as well as practical skills such as gaining a driver’s licence
• help to improve foundation skills such as the ability to work in a team, communication skills, motivation, reliability and willingness to work
• assistance in career advice, preparing a résumé and developing job applications and
• coaching in interview techniques and personal presentation.

Providers will also be expected to work closely with employers and will be able to offer an Australian Government wage subsidy of up to $6500 over 12 months to assist employers with the costs of hiring and training an eligible young person.

Information sessions for interested organisations will be held in Perth and Sydney (26 October), Adelaide (27 October), Hobart (28 October), Melbourne (29 October), Brisbane (30 October) and Canberra (2 November).

Tenders close at 5.00 pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), 1 December 2015.

To register for an information session or to obtain the tender documents visit https://www.ivvy.com/event/TTWRFP/

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