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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 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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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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Having a child at a young age can disrupt education and increase the barriers to finding and keeping a job, potentially leading to long-term dependence on welfare and poorer life outcomes for caregivers and their children (Department of Social Services, 2016). Evidence indicates that young parents often experience complex and pre-existing challenges, such as intergenerational cycles of disadvantage, unhealthy relationships, insecure or unsafe housing, mental ill health and distress, domestic violence and systemic barriers such as discrimination and exclusion.

The Career Readiness for Young Parents (CRFYP) program - a Commonwealth-funded project under the Department of Social Services (DSS) Try, Test and Learn Fund and delivered by Bridging the Gap - seeks to empower young parents to address barriers to their employment and gain critical skills for future work. The program paired young parents with a facilitator who supported them through the processes of addressing non-vocational and vocational barriers, identifying a training course or career, searching for work and preparing for employment. The program also provided access to free childcare and transport to program activities, along with financial support for study, referrals and living expenses if necessary. The Centre for Social Impact at the University of Western Australia (UWA) was contracted by Bridging the Gap to evaluate the program and assess its success in achieving its aims. The report found that participants experience a high degree of satisfaction with the program. The multi-pronged approach, along with the dedication and mentoring skills of the facilitators, proved vital to the success of the program.

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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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People from refugee and migrant backgrounds face significant challenges in gaining employment and integrating socially within mainstream society for a number of reasons including, having poor social networks, low English language proficiency, lack of local work experience, non-recognition of qualifications, and high levels of discrimination in the labour market. The Multicultural Enterprise Development (MED) Project was designed to assist people from refugee, humanitarian or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds living in Western Australia to improve their employment opportunities and social integration through targeted support. For the purpose of this report the term 'people from refugee and migrant backgrounds' includes people who are refugees, humanitarian entrants and people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. A joint initiative of the Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre and Multicultural Futures, in partnership with Business Foundations, the project was evaluated by the Centre for Social Impact, University of Western Australia.

The Collective Enterprise Incubator Program (Stream One) provided culturally-competent business training and support to build the skills, knowledge and confidence of low or semi-skilled refugees and migrants while they gained work experience in building a collective enterprise as a group. The Individual Enterprise Accelerator Program (Stream Two) delivered a modified New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) program, tailored to meet the needs of people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Participants were recruited and screened to determine which stream was most appropriate. Across all projects the evaluation examined the processes applied and the impact of the pandemic on program delivery. For the Stream One projects the evaluation captured the extent to which participants gained: Australian work experience; English language competency; applied skills and knowledge; employment vision and pathways; and social connections and increased confidence through their participation in the program. For Stream Two, the evaluation examined the participants' experience of being in the program, and the extent to which participants gained: enhanced occupational competencies; Australian self-employment experience; self-employment clarity and pathways; and social connections and increased confidence through their participation in the program.

This evaluation report explains the context of the MED Project and presents some of the barriers and challenges to employment faced by people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in Australia. Next, the evaluation approach and methodology are outlined. The three distinct projects (the Collective Enterprise Stream One North and South projects and the Stream Two modified NEIS project) are examined and evaluated in turn and presented in separate chapters. This is followed by some concluding thoughts on the overall MED Project.

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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 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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