Not-for-profit employment services provider CoAct, in partnership with Youth Projects, has been awarded exclusive rights to run the Australian Government’s Transition to Work (TtW) program in Western Melbourne. The employment program for 15- to 24-year-olds will be delivered on the ground by long-time service partner, Youth Projects and recognises Youth Projects’ exceptional service and results delivering TtW in the Northwest Melbourne region. Over the past 6 years since TtW’s inception, Youth Projects has helped 1,700 young people into work or training.
TtW’s Western Melbourne region stretches from Melton to Werribee and from Bacchus Marsh to Footscray. It’s one of the fastest-growing areas in Australia, with the LGAs of Wyndham and Melton in the top 5 LGAs nationally for growth in 2017-2018. Youth unemployment across Western Melbourne was at 18.8% pre-pandemic, almost double the national rate for young people in the same period.
Western Melbourne has a diverse labour market profile that presents significant employment opportunities for young people across a wide range of skill-in-demand industries.
CoAct CEO, Matt Little believes “The TtW program is a wonderful, customer-centred, flexible program that achieves incredibly high levels of sustained impact for the participants. Specialist programs like TtW are at the heart of the recent increase in youth employment, helping highly disadvantaged young people to develop practical skills to get a job or connect with education or training.”
Mr Little says TtW has also been an invaluable service to young people affected by the pandemic.
“Young people – and young people in Melbourne particularly – have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic. We’ve been there to help them navigate the challenges it’s brought and will continue to do so.”
“Young people in the west of Melbourne need us most right now, and we aren’t going to sit around waiting for them to find us. We’re taking our highly successful model from the north-west of Melbourne to the west. We’ll meet young people where they’re at and provide the opportunities they desperately need right now.” said Ben Vasiliou, CEO, Youth Projects.
“This is no ordinary jobs program. Our new approach has embedded mental health supports to help young people recover from the pandemic and build resilience for their future.”
CoAct and Youth Projects will start delivering TtW in Western Melbourne from 1 July 2022. For more information about the program visit www.coact.org.au.
