The Try, Test and Learn Fund: Mentoring to Work Project

Overview

The Mentoring to Work trial project pairs young parents and young former students at risk of long term unemployment with a volunteer mature mentor in work or with strong business and workplace connections to guide and support them through the employment process (job search, job readiness, job placement and sustaining work). The young people will be segmented into two cohorts: the general group cohort and a smaller cohort of those with high support needs as identified by community service organisation case managers. Mentoring sessions will occur weekly for six months and each session will be centred on a theme pertinent to gaining employment. The first hour of each session will be a group session with mentors, mentees, relevant community services, employment service organisations and employers where the knowledge from all parties is shared openly, and the second hour will comprise more intensive, short one-on-one mentoring that translates the knowledge into practical action towards getting the individual young person ready for and into employment. The trial project employs a partnership model to create and leverage an ecosystem of support to holistically address the diverse range of barriers and challenges faced by young people in attaining and maintaining employment. This ecosystem of support includes employers, employer peak bodies, corporate volunteering bodies, community service organisations, employment services, child care peak bodies, government agencies and intermediary agencies that work between community services and business.