Working for Australia's future: Increasing participation in the workforce

Long-term unemployed

Focussing on local communities, BSL has trialled an integrated approach of assistance for long-term unemployed people in Victoria.⁵ The Committee visited Atherton Gardens Public Housing Estate where 95 per cent of residents were on income support, one quarter are single parents, it is an ethnically diverse community with over 60 per cent of residents are of NESB. The crucial aspects of service delivery specified by BSL to assist people who have been unemployed for two years or more include:

• community engagement - identifying community needs;
intensive support - providing support workers to assist with personal issues as well as work skill development;
pre-vocational training - developing a combination of work skills and personal development skills to manage the transition from unemployment to sustainable employment;
work experience - providing opportunities to learn-on-the-job and re-acquaint with a daily work routine;
traineeships - promoting national certificates and qualifications to provide support for people to look beyond entry level jobs;
post-placement support - continuing support to aid in the transition when dealing with the costs of travel, clothing, childcare and changes to income support arrangements, and early work issues; and
whole of government approach - working collaboratively between tiers of government to make the most of funding streams and programs.⁶

BSL highlighted the need to bring the key stakeholders together in a concentrated approach to best assist individuals. BSL has implemented tailor made pre-employment programs and traineeships within government, business and not for profit organisations, with 103 people over the past 18 months. Seventy-five per cent of these have been out of work for more than two years. BSL added that effective programs will be the ones that lead to a job.⁹

… it is not rocket science. In some ways, it is a very simplistic model. It is about that [support] person being a trusted, embedded catalyst, which goes back to services inserting themselves back into the community.¹⁰

Mature age workers

There are complex barriers for mature age people wishing to enter or re-enter the workforce, and those listed in various submissions included:

• lack of appropriate skills and training for employment in the new economy and a need for training and support to enable them to continue participating;
social security and tax disincentive effects;
changing labour market dynamics which have resulted in disruption to traditional work options and employment patterns for many people;
the widespread use of retrenchment processes and severance payments, with those who have been unemployed a long time facing considerable difficulty in becoming re-employed, and discrimination in terms of recruitment and retrenchment;
employer perceptions that surround mature age workers such as low levels of productivity and inability to adapt to technological change;
mature age unemployment tends to be long-term, bringing with it considerable financial and psychological difficulties and this has an adverse effect in terms of re-entry to the workforce;
mature age jobseekers remain largely hidden during discussions about unemployment, in part due to the significant numbers of people who decide to retire upon becoming unemployed;
lack of jobs in particular regions and locations;
where there are labour shortages retraining will be needed for experienced workers returning to the workforce;
people responsible for recruiting workers need to be made aware of the value of mature age workers;
the mode of delivery of education or training, fear of learning particularly for those who have previous negative experiences of education, motivation, lack of financial resources, lack of support from family and employers.¹²

Mission Australia supports assistance also being made available to people not receiving income support payments. Other suggestions include:

• expanding the target market for the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme to include all 50 year olds, not just those on income support; and
“one-off” wage support incentives for employers who employ a mature age worker for more then six months.¹⁷

Retaining older workers

Treasury made the point that while self-funded retirees will not add to the cost of aged pensions, there is a cost in terms of the up front tax concessions for superannuation, which is foregone revenue.¹⁹ In February 2004, the Treasurer also announced measures to broaden the availability of superannuation and make it more adaptable to changing work arrangements, provide more choices in financing retirement income and improve the integrity of the system:

… to allow people to access their superannuation from preservation age as an income stream. This will allow people to take advantage of opportunities to work part time and supplement their income with their superannuation.²⁰

FaCS stressed that Australia is having difficulty in retaining people in the workforce until retirement age and that this is perhaps a more urgent problem then what happens to people who are over the retirement age.²¹ Mature age people who go onto income support very quickly undergo an attitudinal change to believe that they have taken early retirement on income support.²² Treasury commented that:

OECD research has shown that it is more difficult to reverse retirement decisions, once taken, than it is to encourage people still in employment to delay retirement (OECD 2003). Those most weakly ‘attached’ to the labour force tend to be more likely to initiate early retirement before age 65.²³

There are a number of strategies in various submissions that may assist in encouraging mature age workers to remain in the workforce and these have been combined in the following list:

• greater flexibility in the choice of work options. This may include flexibility in hours of work and modification of work environments and tasks to be more responsive to the needs of older workers;
greater utilisation of the experience and skills of older workers’ mentoring or supervisory role, with less physical tasks and succession planning;
addressing internal cultural barriers to older workers;
publishing benefits and success stories;
addressing disincentives such as superannuation, age pension and taxation arrangements;
improved redundancy payments and protection of employee entitlements;
transition processes from full-time employment to retirement, or employment services;
removing barriers to the employment of part-time and casual workers from industrial awards and arrangements;
an education campaign to change community attitudes; and
access to guidance about retraining needs and options, and vocational education.²⁷

COTA NSP called for assistance for mature age people who have been retrenched but do not qualify for Australian Government assistance. These people may have had one job for many years or may have been absent from the labour market in caring roles and may be unaware of the recruitment process.³² Further, COTA NSP believes that:

Job Network could offer a better and more relevant service to mature age job seekers if there was better understanding of the characteristics and needs of this group including the diversity of needs and circumstances of people within it. A service environment in Job Network which was more in tune with the needs of an ageing workforce could assist in improving confidence in the service and usage rates. This in turn could assist in preventing long term unemployment and improving mature age labour force participation.³³

Changing attitudes around mature age workers

Dr Kay Price stated that:

Participation in paid work relates not only to the individual whom we are trying to get participating but also to how ageing is valued in our society. We are talking here about mature age people who are unemployed and whom we are trying to get back into the work force. Acts and legislation have actually been set up with an ageist attitude - not knowingly or purposely - which has created an ageist response to encouraging people who are older to work and to getting them into paid employment. ⁴⁶

Employer’s perspective

Figure 5.1 Preferred age group when recruiting and selecting employees

Source
Drake Personnel Limited, 1999 Age Discrimination is alive and well, Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment Education and Workplace Relations Inquiry into issues specific to workers over 45 years, Submission 165, pp. 2-3.

A study by Drake Personnel also showed that in recent decades, retrenchments have largely been in the 50 and over age group.⁵¹ SDAEA commented that employers need to be encouraged to be more open to the employment of mature age workers, as many older people wish to continue working and need to be able to find rewarding employment.⁵²

Companies have gone from problems of not being able to get rid of older workers because of changes to discrimination laws to now being confronted by the issue that they need to harness them better.⁵³

ACCI agreed that there are attitudinal issues within the employer community that need to be addressed.⁵⁴ RCSA suggested an information campaign for employers on the value and importance of employing mature age workers.⁵⁵ ACCI added that the situation has improved and more mature age people are staying in the workforce, but that more can be done.

The approaches and attitudes that you find in employers that may present some barriers to people coming into or remaining in the work force for longer are reflective of some of the approaches in our community generally towards ageing and the aged.⁵⁶

COTA NSP believes that:

… there are no certainties for the future in regard to an improvement in employment opportunities for older workers. Stereotypical attitudes and discriminatory practices are likely to persist for many years. In addition, ongoing economic restructuring will continue to pose very significant challenges for older workers.⁵⁷

Training

COTA NSP referred to the mismatch between skills and available employment that has occurred with the economic restructuring across Australia.

Training and skill development are rated very highly by mature age people in terms of what they believe would help them most get a job. However, affordability and availability of courses as well as linkages to real job opportunities are the issues for many people. Flexibility and articulation into the national training system are critical.⁶³

ACCI commented that:

…policy makers need to ensure that there are structures in place for re-skilling and retraining so that people who are displaced in the labour market at a relatively middle or mature age have the capacity to come back into the labour market. It is not realistic to think that in a dynamic labour market people can move back into the same job that they had previously, but there is great productive capacity remaining in people if they are moved quickly into programs of assistance that will help improve and increase skills.⁶⁵

In situations where the occupational health and safety legislation requires specific qualifications to ensure adequate skills levels, the costs of undertaking a VET course can preclude people from that position.

Up front fee regimes in Australian VET are poor policy, for both economic and social reasons. Attention should be given to moving VET charging mechanisms more towards income-contingent repayment, which means centralizing the collection of charges through the Australian Taxation Office.⁷²

COTA NSP referred to the mismatch of skills and employment opportunities that has occurred with the economic restructuring across Australia.⁷⁴ COTA NSP listed a number of strategies to match skills to job opportunities for mature age people including:

• Flexible subsidies for mature age people to take up relevant training for local job opportunities;
• Training needs to articulate with and accredited into the national training system;
• Support for a culture of lifelong learning in Australia to encompass people in work;
• Developing an explicit policy of education for older adults;
Reducing barriers to existing education and training opportunities for older adults such as costs, time and location;
Providing incentives for the education and training of older adults in the workplace;
• Extending community and internet-based learning options;
• Fostering the development of methodologies for the learning of older adults;
• A national policy framework for adult learning as recommended by Adult Learning Australia; and
• The Basic IT Enabling Skills program (BITES) for older workers be extended to any job seeker over the age of 45 whether on benefits or not. ⁷⁵

Some of the evidence stated discussed discrimination against older workers by younger recruitment consultants. RCSA stated:

… educating our industry and consultants regarding the capabilities and value of mature employees is considered an essential part of our ongoing information and training program [for members of the association responsible for onhire, recruitment and consulting services].⁷⁸

RCSA added that

… a number of our [association] members are ensuring they are re-engaging older consultants to [assess job seekers].⁷⁹

Parents and carers

Family friendly workplaces

AIG suggested that the current award provisions need to be reviewed to create more options for parents as part of the existing leave entitlements and by agreement with the employers.⁸⁶ ACCI made the point that these circumstances cannot be translated to all businesses and will not apply equally to others.

If you impose these types of obligations on employers on a one-size-fits-all basis, on an across-the-economy basis, you are going to increase labour costs in a way that is detrimental to the operation of the labour market.⁸⁷

Childcare

Participation requirements have been introduced following Australians Working Together for parents with a child aged 13 or over, currently the high school age. Depending on the success of this initiative there may be scope to lower the age for participation. CIS advocated increasing the participation requirements for parents once their youngest child starts school.

Basically, on single parents the proposal is that we should follow almost the whole of the rest of the developed Western world and expect single parents to go to work part time once their youngest child goes to school, which is what virtually every other country does.⁹⁹

However, there is resistance to such an approach as the Women’s Action Alliance indicated:

Sole parents and others who have disabilities, who are caring for young children or someone else who needs constant attention should not be expected to look for paid work. The degree to which their caring responsibilities reduce their availability for paid work must be recognised. Broadly we would say sole parents should not be required to seek paid employment while they have dependent children. As a minimum we would say while they have school aged children. ¹⁰⁰

Carers Australia commented on the need for the social security system to be tailored to support carers so that they can remain in the workforce. Carers payments are withdrawn if the carer undertakes more than 20 hours work or study and this can limit the options available for carers to participate. Carers Australia believes that the 20 hour restriction should be removed to encourage young people to combine study or paid work with their caring responsibilities to enhance their future employment prospects.¹⁰²

For young carers, who are aged 26 and under and comprise a particularly vulnerable group, the 20 hours per week limit is a strong deterrent in undertaking training or work. ABS statistics indicate that approximately 60 per cent of young primary carers 15-25 years are unemployed or not in the workforce and only 4 per cent are in school or training. They are often found in sole parent families and it appears they often provide care because they are the only ones available to fulfil this role at home and often have little choice.¹⁰³

Indigenous Australians

The Productivity Commission report on the review of government service provision to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: key indicators 2003 highlights the range of barriers and disadvantages that many Indigenous people face.¹⁰⁵ The report identifies strategic areas for action which have the potential to reduce Indigenous disadvantage. These areas are broad but have significant implications for the ability for Indigenous people to develop skills and capacity to participate economically. The areas of action include:

• early childhood development and growth;
• early school engagement and performance;
• positive childhood and transition to adulthood;
• reducing the incidence of substance abuse and misuse;
• functional and resilient families and communities;
• effective environmental health systems; and
• economic participation and development.¹⁰⁶

Examples of programs for Indigenous people that have been developed through coordinating Australian, State and Territory and local government authorities with communities include:

• Community Participation Agreements: It is intended that CPAs will operate in around 100 remote Indigenous communities and will involve the community in identifying practical ways people can contribute to their families and communities in return for their income support.¹⁰⁹
• Reconnect: young Indigenous people’s access to support programs to improve their educational and employment outcomes is required. The Reconnect Program is an early intervention program for young people aged 12-18 years who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and their families, to improve the level of engagement of these young people with family, work, education, training and community. Fourteen of 98 services are Indigenous specific.¹¹⁰

Employment programs and projects

The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AIMM) reported of the success in the Hamersley and Pilbara areas, in the iron ore areas of WA, of Indigenous training and employment programs by Rio Tinto. AIMM is working with the Indigenous community and local schools to encourage greater Indigenous participation in further training and apprenticeships:

… this very practical approach of encouraging Aboriginal school involvement through the high schools, and then training in apprenticeships and in professional areas was having some excellent effects.¹²³

Northern Australian programs

Other examples of government and community based programs to assist Indigenous people are the Indigenous Employment Policy for Queensland Government Building and Construction Contracts implemented by the Queensland Government in 2001. It is a direct response to the high unemployment rate of Indigenous Queenslanders and their comparatively low participation in VET, particularly in rural and remote locations.

The Policy applies to state government contracts for built and civil construction in the 32 Deed-of-Grant-in-Trust communities and the shires of Aurukun, Torres and Mornington. A minimum of 20 percent of the on-site construction labour force must comprise local Indigenous residents and half of this group must undertake approved training, which may include apprenticeships and traineeships.¹²⁴

Community Development Employment Projects

People with a disability

Disability Action Inc summarised the situation as:

People with disabilities need adequate support in order to access job search, training and employment opportunities. This includes access to adequate personal assistance and care, to adequate accommodation, transport and access to buildings and other infrastructure, access to communication technologies and access to the community to maintain their social relationships, which often enable them to start work.¹³⁵

This access to adequate support is required to counter the barriers faced by people with a disability. These barriers include:

• lack of culturally appropriate assistance, and inappropriate or inadequate assistance and support;
• myths, misconceptions and negative stereotypes about disability and ethnicity in the community;
• discrimination and prejudice against people with a disability;
• emphasis on ‘mainstreaming’ without acknowledgement of the inequities that exist;
• NESB people with a disability often do not understand concepts used to describe their situation;
• ethnic communities often do not have the capacity to advocate for the needs of people with a disability;
• lack of freely available information for employers on work adjustments for people with a disability;
• lack of support for people with a disability participating in the recruitment process;
• employers’ lack of awareness of reasonable adjustment for people with a disability and availability of Government incentives, including subsidies to offset costs for modifications or adjustments to the work environment;
• poor job design and inflexible working arrangements and inadequate support for the placement of these people by the recruitment industry;
• incorrect perceptions that disability is linked to low performance, employers and businesses’ perception that the employment of people with a disability is hard and time consuming; and
• recruitment providers not skilled in disability and no guidelines or standards provided.¹³⁶

Growth in Disability Support Pension

The male DSP-recipient population has been getting younger in recent years, with 27 per cent being males aged less than 50 years.¹⁴² One significant difference between the DSP and Newstart is that the DSP does not have activity testing.

The number of males on DSP aged under 50 years has more than tripled in the last twenty years from 54,303 in 1982 to 178,206 in 2002. By comparison the number of males on DSP aged 50 years and over has more than doubled from 96,843 to 228,687 during the same period. Males on DSP aged less than 50 years accounted for 43.8 per cent of all male DSP recipients in 2002 compared with 35.9 per cent in 1982. ¹⁴³

Employment strategies

Job Network providers must be able to service all jobseekers and demonstrate their capacity to service people with disabilities among others. There are also specialist Job Network providers who provide services to people with different types of disabilities such as the symptoms of HIV-AIDS, vision impairment, hearing impairment and mental health issues. The ultimate test of a Job Network service provider is the level of jobs they get for people with a disability, and the results were reported as quite positive.¹⁵⁰

…around 54 to 58 per cent of people with disabilities who have been placed through the job matching service in the past have been in a job three months later—in employment or a full-time education course. For those who go through the more intensive services, 44 per cent are still in employment or long-term education three months later ... these providers also have the highest star ratings, typically. Those are objective measures of their performance.¹⁵¹

NEDA and PDCA identified a need for more practical assistance to help NESB people and other people with disabilities to gain employment. Disability Action advocates that addressing barriers to employment and providing assistance rather than focussing on incentives and requirements will more likely lead to increased employment outcomes.¹⁵³ Examples of practical assistance listed by various disability organisations include:

• financial assistance to meet the costs of participation;
• creating opportunities for people to gain work experience; providing incentives for employers to hire people with a disability;
• providing re-training to people working in industries or positions that are declining;
• technical/equipment assistance;
• recognition of qualifications and experiences gained in other countries;
• ensuring that employment support policies assist in keeping people who acquire a disability in employment;
• providing culturally competent services to place people with disabilities in real jobs with meaningful outcomes and appropriate awards based wages;
• modifications to duty statements;
• making job advertisements inclusive and accessible;
• flexibility for those who experience fluctuating levels of health; and
• better promotion of the Workplace Modifications Program to both employers and employment service providers.¹⁵⁴

Six key areas were identified in the pilot to maximise the effectiveness of using Job Network:

• remove disincentives to participation for DSP recipients;
• such as insufficient pension suspension guarantees, and employer ignorance of disability issues and discrimination;
• increase DSP recipients’ awareness of available employment services and promote best practice in engaging with interested job seekers at the local level;
• promote flexible servicing arrangements that currently exist within the Active Participation Model;
• such as use of the Job Seeker Account, and cross referrals;
• promote best practice, training and support mechanisms and tools for servicing DSP recipients;
• such as increasing general understanding of disability issues;
• streamline administrative systems and processes associated with servicing DSP recipients; and
• improve awareness in the labour market of the benefits of employing people with a disability.¹⁵⁶

Workplace Modification Scheme

Changing attitudes

In some situations, the response by employers is not as positive as it could be and people with a disability:

… often experience discrimination in the workplace, ranging from being marginalised in relationships with fellow employees and managers, not being offered modified work conditions or hours of employment to accommodate their disabilities, or being forced to resign or sacked outright.¹⁶²

Very little information has been provided to employers about their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.¹⁶⁴ MS Australia commented that employers are often uncomfortable with discussing workplace accommodation and accede from fear of allegations of discrimination rather than a desire to provide appropriate assistance in the workplace.¹⁶⁵

If employers could be given the kind of assistance that is available for work injuries to help them to manage a worker and a chronic illness, then significant community dollars would be saved in welfare and rehabilitation services and create additional retirement income for the employees concerned.¹⁶⁶

MS Australia referred to the Employer Forum on Disability established in the United Kingdom in which the employers:

… have taken the initiative to provide leadership to their members in promoting positive management solutions to issues of disability and chronic illness in the workplace.¹⁶⁷

RSB believes that there is a need for community education. RSB believes that you will not find better workers than blind people but this message needs to be taken out to the broader community.¹⁷⁰ Once in employment the retention level of employees with a disability is high.¹⁷¹

…we can spend millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of service hours to make a client independent and to integrate into the community but, at the end of the day, if the community does not accept them, basically you have achieved nothing.¹⁷²

Continuity of employment

Recruitment services for people with a disability

PDCA commented that job placements for people with a disability can fail due to an employer’s lack of planning and preparation before they commence work:

This sets the individual up with false expectations, which can result in loss of self-esteem and the willingness to pursue the employment market again.¹⁸⁹

Training and education

Employment opportunities

Public sector employment

There were more opportunities in the public service but due to reductions at both the State and Commonwealth levels, where lower level positions are being outsourced, the potential employment market has probably decreased.²⁰⁰ People with a disability have been overrepresented in retrenchments from the public sector.²⁰¹ The Australian Federation of Deaf Societies told the Committee that he was not aware of people with disabilities being targeted for voluntary redundancies but people with a disability were often in positions that could be allocated to other areas.²⁰² However, it was noted that deaf people in the public service tend to remain in the lower levels.²⁰³

In Australia there are some excellent examples of private sector employers who bend over backwards to accommodate people with moderate to severe disabilities … But the fact is that there are a number of other disabled people who cannot find job opportunities, which means that there are not enough of them.²⁰⁴

Migrants

The Tasmanian Government called for a review of existing programs in terms of:

Increasing the level of the annual net migration;

Whether State specific migration mechanisms could be expanded, with relaxed entry requirements offered to migrants who settle in defined areas/regions of Australia; and

As a corollary to the above point, the provision of appropriate “on the ground” resettlement support and assistance particularly in the absence of large ethnic communities.²¹⁵

Within 18 months of arriving in Australia the unemployment rate of skilled migrants is comparable to that of the general Australian population.²¹⁶ The Intergenerational Report 2002-03 noted:

Higher migration would tend to increase growth in the labour force and thus in GDP. The composition of the migrant intake also influences spending. ²¹⁷

DIMIA commented that there was a real need for more opportunities for new arrivals to gain work experience in the Australian labour market.²²⁴ JSCM heard that:

One in five skilled migrants arriving in 1999-2000 reported that the main difficulty in finding work in the first six months was insufficient local experience.²²⁵

It was the opinion of JSCM that local experience enhanced migrants’ ability to realise optimum employment outcomes, benefiting both them and Australia. In addition, they believed that it should be clearly set out that there are:

… opportunities for intending migrants to gain local experience through temporary migration prior to taking the personally formidable step of permanently leaving home.²²⁶ JSCM recognised that while there are existing opportunities for newly arrived migrants to gain local experience, information about these opportunities was not readily accessible.

It was JSCM’s belief that skilled migrants who have English language skills:

… would be unlikely to guess that the Adult Migrant English Program or the Adult Multicultural Education Service would provide information about work experience opportunities.²²⁷

Further there is a need to accommodate linguistic diversity in employment services. Eight per cent of FaCS customers were born in countries where a language other than English is spoken and six per cent of customers spoke a language other than English.²³⁰ According to PDCA and NEDA:

• Ethnic communities tend to be overlooked when considering the ‘target group’.
• Staff need continual accredited, quality training in cultural difference, diversity and disability, and in particular, the nature and reality of the person’s experiences.
• The disability services system has not adopted even the most basic mechanisms for people from NESB such as the use of interpreters or the publication of material in languages other than English. Poor language skills prevent carers from accessing services so they have less opportunity to develop their personal, social or professional capabilities.
• There are insufficient strategies and practices to ensure that people from NESB with disability and their families and carers participate in decision-making.
• The myth of extended family support is still subscribed to by both service providers and funding bodies resulting in fewer services for NESB communities.²³¹

Regional migration

DIMIA, in conjunction with State and Territory governments, operates a number of initiatives which aim to improve regional business’s access to skilled migrants. These initiatives include the:

• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, which allows regional employers to fill full-time vacancies for at least two years’ duration with skilled migrant labour.
• Regional Established Business in Australia program, which facilitates permanent residency for business migrants on long-term business visas.
• Skills Matching Database, which helps regional business find applicants for skilled vacancies who can then be sponsored through the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme.²³³

The Rural Industry Working Group argued that the migrant and backpacker community is an ‘important and valued supply of seasonal labour in the rural industry’. Horticulturalists have commented to the Rural Industry Working Group that if age restrictions and tax regulations associated with backpackers working visas could be relaxed then the backpacker labour force could be expanded.²³⁶ The Rural Industry Working Group have recommended that:

Training infrastructures, and deregulatory measures to extend the usefulness of the migrant and backpacker labour forces as a means of solving seasonal (harvest) labour shortages, are developed and promoted.²³⁷

Young people

Mission Australia states that the needs of young people are not adequately being met. Preventing or reducing the need for young people to access income support would clearly be the ideal solution. There is a need to focus on early intervention to provide young people with the best opportunities and assistance to make the transition from school to work.²⁴⁰

Two years ago, the Prime Minister’s Youth Pathways Action Plan Taskforce identified a lack of integrated income support for young people, coupled with a low level of youth specific knowledge and service expertise among some Job Network providers as the key barriers to young people’s participation in job search and employment (Footprints to the Future p. 73). Mission Australia is concerned that this issue does not seem to have been addressed in the Australians Working Together package.²⁴¹

Mission Australia supports and advocates:

• school based VET initiatives to enable Year 12 completion and structured work placements and school-based apprenticeships;
• intensive assistance through Job Network; and
• specialised assistance through the Job Placement, Employment and Training program.

However, there is a need for a more comprehensive national approach to strengthen pathways and provide early assistance. Additional strategies include:

• early Intervention Programs assistance targeting at risk students in primary and secondary schools;
• mentoring programs for young people at risk of early school leaving, or have already left school to reconnect them to employment, vocational training or back into education; and
• increased availability of holistic recovery programs which target severe cases of youth disconnection and provide integrated services such as drug and alcohol rehabilitation and counselling, vocational learning, and fostering longer term living and working environments.²⁴²

Apprenticeships

In summary

The Committee considers that the approach taken by the BSL as a model for assisting long-term unemployed persons has broader applicability. In concert with active participation requirements, and specialised assistance for individual needs, providing this framework would prevent persons moving into long-term unemployment.

• community engagement; intensive support;
• pre-vocational training;
• work experience;
• vocational traineeships;
• post-placement support; and
• a whole of government approach.