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Without timely and targeted intervention, young adults are at a high risk of missing out on a strong entry into the labour market, resulting in long-term financial disadvantage. Mentoring programs have gained popularity in recent years, especially in relation to young people, as they meet a human need for the giving and receiving of intergenerational support. The Mentoring 2 Work (M2W) Project was designed to assist unemployed young people find work through mentoring support. Delivered under the Australian Government Department of Social Services' 'Try, Test and Learn' fund, with [Council on the Ageing, Western Australia] COTA WA selected as the backbone organisation of the program, the project provided one-on-one mentoring support to unemployed young adults with a focus on career exploration, job-readiness and finding a job. The M2W initiative paired unemployed young adults (aged 18 to 25) at risk of long-term unemployment with a volunteer mentor, who supported them through the processes of identifying a career, searching for work, and preparing for employment. To be eligible to participate, the young person needed to: be aged under 25; have received a welfare payment in the 6 months prior to recruitment; and not have a significant connection to the workforce.

This process evaluation report focuses on the program operation, beginning with recruitment, screening and sign up followed by training and preparation form mentors and mentees. It presents the processes for matching mentors and mentees, mentoring activities, support from project staff and program closure. It concludes with key observations and considerations that underpin the project's activities.

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The Commonwealth Government, committed to the achievement of greater equity in the area of skilled labour training in general and in apprenticeship training in particular has established various schemes aimed at encouraging young women to take up apprenticeships in non-traditional trades. Commonwealth assistance for 48 course places in one such scheme was allocated to Western Australia, and a proposal under the initiative was developed in this State. Whilst TAFE was responsible for the provision of any proposed programme, planning and policy development took place in consultation with representatives from the Department of Employment and Training and the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations (Perth), and with regard to the advice of industry and union representatives. This study aims to provide information to interested parties on the intended and actual outcomes of the special training initiative. Specifically, the evaluation study was designed: to investigate the process of planning and implementation of the special training initiative; to obtain a profile of the enrolled students in the special Horticulture pre-apprenticeship programme; to report the opinions of the students and teaching staff regarding their experience of the special Horticulture pre-apprenticeship programme. Show less

Without timely and targeted intervention, young adults are at a high risk of missing out on a strong entry into the labour market, resulting in long-term financial disadvantage. Mentoring programs have gained popularity in recent years, especially in relation to young people, as they meet a human need for the giving and receiving of intergenerational support. The Mentoring 2 Work (M2W) Project was designed to assist unemployed young people find work through mentoring support. Delivered under the Australian Government Department of Social Services' 'Try, Test and Learn' fund, with [Council on the Ageing, Western Australia] COTA WA selected as the backbone organisation of the program, the project provided one-on-one mentoring support to unemployed young adults with a focus on career exploration, job-readiness and finding a job. The M2W initiative paired unemployed young adults (aged 18 to 25) at risk of long-term unemployment with a volunteer mentor, who supported them through the processes of identifying a career, searching for work, and preparing for employment. To be eligible to participate, the young person needed to: be aged under 25; have received a welfare payment in the 6 months prior to recruitment; and not have a significant connection to the workforce.

This report presents the experiences of the mentors and mentees who participated in the [post-Coronavirus Disease 2019] post-COVID-19 program extension (Stage 4). The feedback presented in this report is underpinned by the caveat that program activities (mentoring) were continuing beyond the evaluation time period, and therefore the impact of mentoring on mentees is not fully captured. The report is structured as follows: the background and context of the program is presented; this is followed by a discussion on youth unemployment in Australia; the evaluation methodology is then presented; and this is followed by a demographic profile of the participants; the survey results are then presented and discussed; the report concludes with a discussion on the main outcomes of the program.

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This guide has been written specifically for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to help make decisions on how to: (1) meet obligations under the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) standards; (2) provide a quality service to a diverse range of clients; (3) become a training provider of choice for a broad cross-section of clients; and (4) meet legislative and national and state policy access and equity obligations. Section one of the guide outlines the 'Building diversity' philosophy and its relationship to access and equity. Section two consists of a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) - the answers to the questions often provide examples of good practice. Section three provides some examples of ways in which RTOs can meet the AQTF standards, covering all the standards in consecutive order. Section four provides a list of useful resources and a list of acronyms used. Show less

Without timely and targeted intervention, young adults are at a high risk of missing out on a strong entry into the labour market, resulting in long-term financial disadvantage. Mentoring programs have gained popularity in recent years, especially in relation to young people, as they meet a human need for the giving and receiving of intergenerational support. The Mentoring 2 Work (M2W) Project was designed to assist unemployed young people find work through mentoring support. Delivered under the Australian Government Department of Social Services' 'Try, Test and Learn' fund, with [Council on the Ageing, Western Australia] COTA WA selected as the backbone organisation of the program, the project provided one-on-one mentoring support to unemployed young adults with a focus on career exploration, job-readiness and finding a job. The M2W initiative paired unemployed young adults (aged 18 to 25) at risk of long-term unemployment with a volunteer mentor, who supported them through the processes of identifying a career, searching for work, and preparing for employment. To be eligible to participate, the young person needed to: be aged under 25; have received a welfare payment in the 6 months prior to recruitment; and not have a significant connection to the workforce.

This design and implementation report outlines how best-practice principles were applied in the design and implementation of the M2W Project and discusses some key learnings that emerged from its delivery. The report is divided into two main parts. The first part discusses employment mentoring and presents the M2W model. This is followed by a discussion on program design, program operation and program evaluation. The focus then turns to implementation, covering the various elements of program delivery, including program marketing and participant recruitment, participant screening, the matching process, participant training, mentoring activities, ongoing support from program staff, and program closure.

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This report presents the findings of a project established by the Equal Opportunity Commissions of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia to examine the nature and extent of age discrimination in Australian workplaces. The specific aims of the project were to: (1) identify perceptions held of and by older workers underlying age discrimination in Australian workplaces; (2) identify forms of age discrimination in the workplace; (3) examine the extent and trend of utilisation of age discrimination legislation in Australia and overseas and barriers leading to its underutilisation; and (4) make recommendations to protect the rights to employment of older workers. The report contains directions and recommendations based on the outcomes of the research and details findings in relation to age discrimination in recruitment, training and exit policies. Appendices contain summaries of age discrimination provisions in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Show less

Without timely and targeted intervention, young adults are at a high risk of missing out on a strong entry into the labour market, resulting in long-term financial disadvantage. Mentoring programs have gained popularity in recent years, especially in relation to young people, as they meet a human need for the giving and receiving of intergenerational support. The Mentoring 2 Work (M2W) Project was designed to assist unemployed young people find work through mentoring support. Delivered under the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) 'Try, Test and Learn' fund, with [Council on the Ageing Western Australia] COTA WA selected as the backbone organisation of the program, the project provided one-on-one mentoring support to unemployed young adults with a focus on career exploration, job-readiness and finding a job. The M2W initiative paired unemployed young adults (aged 18 to 25) at risk of long-term unemployment with a volunteer mentor, who supported them through the processes of identifying a career, searching for work, and preparing for employment. To be eligible to participate, the young person needed to: be aged under 25; have received a welfare payment in the 6 months prior to recruitment; and not have a significant connection to the workforce.

This report presents background on youth unemployment in Australia, followed by a demographic profile of participants. Then, based on the young peoples' survey responses, outcomes for M2W and control group participants across a variety of domains relevant to employment, namely health, education, housing, wellbeing, job readiness, barriers to employment, and employment are presented. Mentoring experiences are then explored, primarily for the M2W group; however, the control group's experiences of formal and informal mentoring received from sources other than M2W are examined. Finally, a conclusion chapter summarises the findings and comments on the implications for continuation of the program and youth unemployment in Australia.

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Over recent years, considerable effort has been put into increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) participation in higher education. While there are signs that enrolments are increasing, the sustained engagement and successful completion of higher education remains challenging, particularly in remote locations. With this in mind, a collaborative research project among researchers from three northern Australian tertiary education institutions was designed to understand student perspectives, particularly from remote contexts, about their engagement and success towards completion in higher education. Based on a qualitative research design situating Indigenist/interpretive research within a critical realism metatheory, we present findings from the study, based in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and unpack implications for higher education provision in remote contexts. The findings point to the unique challenges faced by students who live in the Kimberley - and perhaps in other remote locations around Australia. In order to meet these needs, we suggest that tertiary education providers must tailor provision to ensure that engagement with Aboriginal students is relational and culturally safe.

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