Exposure Draft of a Request for Proposal for Transition to Work, 2016-20
On 8th September 2015, the Australian Government Department of Employment
released an Exposure Draft of their new Transition to Work program, inviting feedback
from stakeholders. YACVic submitted the following comments (below), to inform the
development of this significant new program.
The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic) is the state peak body for young people
and the youth sector. YACVic is a vibrant, member-based organisation that has worked
for and with young Victorians and the services that support them for over 50 years.
We welcome the announcement of a new Transition to Work service for young people
aged 15-21 who are not in employment or education. Since the loss of federal funding
to the Youth Connections program in 2014, there has been no targeted, Australia-wide
intervention in this space, despite high rates of youth unemployment. Transition to
Work represents a significant new investment, with the potential to deliver positive
results for young people.
YACVic welcomes this opportunity to provide feedback on the Exposure Draft Of A
Request For Proposal For Transition To Work 2016-2020.
Several aspects of the proposed Transition to Work model are especially welcome:

A focus on young people without a Year 12 or equivalent qualification

Recognition of the value of work-ready skills for a young person

No financial penalty system for young participants in Transition to Work

Participation in Transition to Work would fulfil a young job-seeker's mutual
obligation requirements

Transition to Work providers must demonstrate their capacity to engage with
young people, work with them to achieve educational and employment goals,
and work with community based organisations, employers and schools to
achieve employment outcomes for young people in their local community.
However, there are some additional issues which must be addressed in order for
Transition to Work to operate successfully.
An evidence-based approach
Transition to Work must be informed by current research into young people's
educational and employment transitions. At present, the Exposure Draft risks framing
youth unemployment largely in terms of young people's personal deficiencies. This
would be inaccurate, and might lead to unsuccessful interventions.
Recent research by bodies such as the Smith Family, the Brotherhood of St Laurence,
and the Foundation for Young Australians has demonstrated that young people's
employment opportunities have been severely restricted by the ongoing impacts of the
2008 Global Financial Crisis, as well as by massive economic and technological
changes which have resulted in the disappearance of manual, unskilled and entry-level
positions. With employers demanding higher levels of qualification and experience than
ever before, and with many jobs being advertised informally or internally, young people
without much experience find it hard to get a 'foot in the door'. Young people are also
disproportionately likely to be employed in casual or temporary jobs. This makes it
difficult for them to develop transferable skills and meaningful career paths.
The research indicates that young people's employment prospects can be
strengthened through tailored career advice, work experience, work-ready skills, and
strong post-placement support. We welcome the focus on these issues in the Exposure
Draft for Transition to Work.
However, the research also shows that combating youth unemployment needs wider
interventions too, including:

Help for young people to build supportive networks with mentors, trainers and
local employers
YACVic, Response to Exposure Draft for Transition to Work, September 2015 2

Expert support for employers to keep a young person in a job

More entry-level positions in the public service, to take on young employees

Case management for young people with additional barriers to work

Adequate housing for vulnerable young people who are undertaking vocational
training

Building young people's digital literacy and enterprise skills

Ensuring VET in Schools provides stronger pathways into further training and
work.1
Transition to Work should be developed in tandem with such broader policy and
program changes.
Adequate rural access
The Exposure Draft for Transition to Work states that one or more providers will be
established in each employment region. Applicants may propose to deliver services in
part of a region, or in one or more regions, and may use full-time, part-time or outreach
sites. Victoria has 12 employment regions, 7 of which are outside of Melbourne. The
Exposure Draft states that Transition to Work services should be located in areas which
‘maximise access for as many young people as possible and are close to public
transport and employment hubs’.
YACVic appreciates the need for Transition to Work providers to reach large numbers
of young people, and we support establishing services close to public transport and
other services and businesses.
However, the delivery of large-scale contracts, based in regional centres, often results
in services which get 'swallowed' by these centres, and which are inaccessible to young
people from smaller or isolated rural communities. Public transport access from rural
towns is often poor, and Victoria's employment regions are large. In the Gippsland
1
For more information, see: Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL), Barely Working: Young and Underemployed in
Australia, 2014; BSL, Investing in Our Future¸ 2014; BSL, On the Treadmill: Young and Long-Term Unemployed in
Australia, 2014; BSL, The Teenage Dream Unravels, 2015, BSL, A Youth Transitions Service for Australia, 2015;
Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), The New Work Order, 2015; FYA, Unlimited Potential, 2014; Smith Family,
Young People's Successful Transition to Work, 2014
YACVic, Response to Exposure Draft for Transition to Work, September 2015 3
region, for example, a car journey between Mallacoota and the regional centre of
Morwell takes 4 ½ hours, and might well be unaffordable for a young person on Youth
Allowance. Ironically, it is these isolated young people who may have the most limited
job opportunities.
The selection criteria for Transition to Work providers should take into account the
provider's capacity to reach geographically isolated young people. It would seem
legitimate and beneficial to engage several smaller Transition to Work providers per
region (rather than one large, centralised one), if they were based in rural communities
and had established expertise in working with local young people, businesses and
services. In the event of larger contracts being awarded, rural access and outcomes
should be funded (e.g. with a rural loading), measured, and reported against.
‘Work ready’ skills for young people facing complex disadvantage
The Exposure Draft for Transition to Work emphasises that the program will assist
young people to build ‘work ready’ skills such as resume writing, interview skills,
‘personal presentation’, a driver's licence, literacy, language skills, team work and
communication. Expert help for young people in these areas would be very welcome.
It is important to note that some young people lack these skills due to long-term
disengagement from school, mental illness, chaotic family lives, or entrenched
disadvantage. This may be the case for many young participants in Transition to Work;
the Exposure Draft notes that participants will come from Stream B or C of jobactive, or
from outside the labour market altogether.
At present, the draft selection criteria for Transition to Work providers do not require
them to demonstrate their specific skills in working with disadvantaged and
marginalised young people. This should be a clearer requirement.
In our 2011 research report Swimming Upstream: Young People and Services
Provision Under Job Services Australia, YACVic identified successful approaches to
supporting vulnerable young people into training and employment, including:
YACVic, Response to Exposure Draft for Transition to Work, September 2015 4

Sustained, positive and trusting relationships between young people and
employment support workers, whereby workers understand the young people's
circumstances and build rapport with them in a youth-friendly environment.

Strong partnerships with support services to address a young person's needs in
areas like housing and mental health.

Provision of work experience which is relevant and interesting to the young
person and relates to their aspirations.

Flexible service delivery, offering a range of pathways into training and work.

A strengths-based philosophy which supports young people to make meaningful
choices, while also understanding their developmental stages.

Culturally appropriate supports to enable Aboriginal young people and young
people from refugee and migrant backgrounds to build supportive networks that
facilitate their employment.2
Such approaches may prove especially important when engaging young people who
have dropped out of the labour market altogether - i.e., those who are not receiving
income support or participating in education, training or employment. The Exposure
Draft for Transition to Work indicates this cohort may make up 20% of their young
clients. The Brotherhood of St Laurence has estimated that as many as 30,000 young
Australians under the age of 20 may make up this cohort of ‘invisible unemployed’.
They can be highly disengaged and disadvantaged, and need expert help to enter the
labour market.3
YACVic welcomed the undertaking in the 2015-16 federal budget to fund pilot programs
to support employment and education outcomes for young people from refugee and
migrant backgrounds, young people with mental illness, and young people with multiple
barriers to employment. We look forward to more details about how Transition to Work
will align with these initiatives.
Education re-engagement
2
For more info, see: Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, Swimming Upstream: Young People and Services Provision
Under Job Services Australia, Melbourne, 2011
3
BSL, Investing in our Future, p.9
YACVic, Response to Exposure Draft for Transition to Work, September 2015 5
The Exposure Draft notes that one role of Transition to Work providers will be to help
young people access courses which enable them to complete a Year 12 or Cert III
qualification. However, the Exposure Draft implies that supporting young people to reengage with education may not be a major focus of Transition to Work. For example, it
is anticipated that only around 10% of providers’ 12 week outcome payments will come
from helping young people to complete a Year 12 or Cert III qualification.
YACVic recognises the value of immediate paid work to a young person. We also
recognise the dangers of ‘churning’ young people through training courses which do
not lead to employment outcomes, and which may prove costly and/or uninteresting to
the young person.
However, we suggest that re-engagement with education and training should be a
stronger focus for Transition to Work. As we noted earlier, unskilled and entry level jobs
are becoming rare in many parts of Australia. Even with support to build ‘job ready’
skills, a young person without a Year 12 level qualification may struggle to secure a job,
as they may well be competing with many better qualified candidates. Meanwhile, the
jobs they do access are likely to be casual or temporary and poorly paid. Many young
people would welcome such work regardless - but the research suggests it may not
always provide the stepping stone they need into a permanent, sustainable career.
YACVic recommends that Transition to Work include a stronger focus on supporting
young people to obtain industry-recognised, accredited qualifications through
vocational providers which have shown a strong track record in supporting their
students and apprentices into meaningful employment. These qualifications should be
in areas of interest to the young people concerned, and should align with opportunities
in the young person's community.
We also recommend that Transition to Work aligns with state-based and local initiatives
which support disengaged secondary-school aged young people back into education
and training. The Victorian Government, for example, recently announced funding for a
‘Navigator’ program, which will support re-engagement in education and training for
young people aged 12-17 who are disconnected from school.
YACVic, Response to Exposure Draft for Transition to Work, September 2015 6
Working with local community stakeholders
YACVic welcomes the Exposure Draft's recognition of the need for Transition to Work
providers to demonstrate their experience in working with local employers, schools and
community services and networks to achieve employment and education outcomes for
young people. This emphasis on collaboration and local expertise is very positive.
We have been concerned by a recent trend (evident in the 2015 round of jobactive
contracts) towards funding large scale employment services, many of which are forprofit. Such providers to not always have the local connections and expertise to deliver
effective results for disadvantaged young people. It is important to avoid this trend in
the design of Transition to Work.
Options for young people exiting Transition to Work
The Exposure Draft notes that young people who have not moved into education or
employment within 12 months will exit Transition to Work and be transferred to
jobactive, where they will commence Work for the Dole. However, as the Australian
Council of Social Service has observed, historically Work for the Dole programs have
shown low rates of success at keeping young people in jobs or study. As Work for the
Dole is currently only operating via a relatively small number of not-for-profits, it would
also seem limited in the opportunities for skill-building it can offer young people. We
would encourage further modelling of alternative pathways for young people who have
not been successfully engaged by Transition to Work (or who cannot access Transition
to Work where they live), including through mentoring, tailored career counselling, and
quality vocational education and training.
YACVic would be delighted to speak further with the Department of Employment about
any of these issues.
YACVic, Response to Exposure Draft for Transition to Work, September 2015 7
YACVic, Response to Exposure Draft for Transition to Work, September 2015 8