Who gets what where: review of government-funded youth employment programs across Australia

Combining the rates of unemployed young people and underemployed young people, nearly a third (29.9 per cent) of young Australians are underutilised in the labour market. This underutilisation of young people in the labour force not only negatively impacts their mental health but further denies their ability to fully participate in society. The Youth Employment Study (YES) is the first study to do surveys with a large group of young people who are looking for work and might be accessing Australian employment programs. YES aims to work out what helps young people get jobs and stay in jobs that they enjoy. This paper was produced to support the YES. It is a snapshot reviewing the federal and state and territory government funded employment programs that young people aged 15 to 25 years can access at one point of time. It describes the inputs and program design of each program, and the discourses that have informed their policy solutions. Where possible, the paper also describes program outcomes, evidence from evaluations and the identified barriers to implementation. The paper also outlines the policy and program approaches implemented by state and territory governments to address youth unemployment, together with inputs, design and outcomes where available. However, because the public information for these is much more limited and the approaches are much more varied, the programs are presented in less detail.

'Employment programs' could include an element of accredited training, though most programs that focused on apprenticeships and traineeships as a pathway to employment were excluded. There are some exceptions in the state and territory section, since some governments' training and employment policies were so intertwined that they could not be distinguished as discrete approaches. The programs were categorised in three types according to active employment strategies as identified in existing literature - work first, human capital development, and human capabilities approaches. As many of the programs shared attributes from diverse active employment strategies, the categorisation process was based on a program design's most prominent feature. An existing typology of youth employment programs was also used to analyse the programs' components and their underlying problem formation ideologies - motivational, punishing, and bridging strategies.

The review found 16 large, multisite Australian Government funded employment programs. Six of these programs include mandatory participation and financial disciplinary approaches as part of their program design. The programs collectively cover Australia, though predominantly servicing metropolitan or regional areas. All programs are funded through a marketised approach, in which the Australian Government has contracted (competing) not-for-profit and private organisations to deliver the program on its behalf. Half of the reviewed programs are only open to, or prioritise, jobseekers receiving government income support. Twelve of the reviewed initiatives target specific cohorts, including people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, migrants, and people at risk of long-term unemployment or 'welfare dependence'. Six programs solely target young people or include young people as a key target cohort. The Australian Government funds a complementary program which helps financially support eligible jobseekers with the costs associated with relocating for a job. It also provides wage subsidy incentives to employers to hire participants from employment programs. The employment offered by employers can be full-time, part-time, casual or in the form of an apprenticeship or traineeship. The wage subsidy program targets specific groups of jobseekers, including young people aged 15 to 24 years old. Ten evaluations of the national programs were found (two being for the same program). Of these evaluations, seven used exits from income support as an indicator for program effectiveness. Five measured sustainable employment outcomes (26-week employment outcomes or more).

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