Compact with Young Australians
Wed, Aug 26, 2009; by Bill Coppinger.
What is the National Partnerships and COAG "Compact with Young Australian's all about??"
In April 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) recognised the need to support young people to be able to withstand the impact of the global economic downturn on their employment and career prospects ˆ especially those who disconnect from education or training without adequate qualifications or skills.
The Australian and State and Territory Governments have agreed to a Compact with Young Australians (the Compact) that provides incentives to stay in, or return to, an education or training pathway. All young people aged 15 - 24 will have an entitlement to a place in school, training or higher education, subject to availability and meeting admission requirements. All young people who are aged 17 or under must be engaged full time in school, training or employment, or a combination of these, that is, learning or earning. All Governments have agreed to ensure that at least 90 per cent of all young people attain Year 12 or its equivalent by 2015.
In support of the Compact with Young Australians, the Australian and State and Territory Governments have entered into a National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions. As part of the Australian Government‚s contribution to this National Partnership, existing youth, transitions and career programs will be consolidated into two new programs from
1 January 2010:
- School Business Community Partnership Brokers (Partnership Brokers) will create and improve partnerships between community, business and industry, and schools, to extend learning beyond the classroom, increase student engagement, lift attainment and improve educational outcomes. ($182.9m over four years).
- Youth Connections will provide a safety net for young people who have disengaged or are at risk of disengaging from education, and will offer flexible case managed support and services that recognise the role that family and community play in a young person‚s wellbeing and development. ($286.8m over four years).
To achieve national coverage, 114 Youth Attainment and Transitions Service Regions (Service Regions) have been established.The Victorian Service region 21 is in alignement with the CRLLEN Boundary.
As these new arrangements will be implemented under a National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions, the Australian Government is working closely with the States and Territories to make sure the programs are flexible and responsive, avoid duplication, complement existing State and Territory initiatives, and ensure truly national coverage.
To achieve this, there are different requirements for Youth Connections in each State and Territory.
Specifically for Victoria, this means that the role of the School Business Community Partnership Brokers [Partnership Brokers] will be deployed within the existing Local Learning and Employment initiative through what will be called an "Enhanced LLEN".
The Youth Connections programme was put to Public Tender [ DEEWR RFT PRN23979 ] on August 21st and applications close on October 6th 2009.
- Youth Connectionsis designed to provide a national, flexible, individualised and responsive service to assist young people who are most at risk of disengaging from education or training and therefore not attaining Year 12 or equivalent and not making a successful transition to further study, training or work. The objective of Youth Connections is to support these young people to attain Year 12 or equivalent and to help them make a successful transition through education and onto further education, training or work.
- Youth Connections will offer a continuum of services so that young people at risk can access the help they need. Providers will work with a spectrum of at risk youth, including those who are most at risk of disengaging from school through to those who are severely disengaged from education, family and community. Service delivery will be flexible and seamless and will reflect the young person‚s personal situation and circumstances, aiming to build resilience and improve the personal skills and wellbeing of the young person.
- Youth Connections Providers will also have a role in strengthening services in their region, by working through Partnership Brokers and relevant State and Territory services to assist education providers and other organisations to build their own capacity to work with at risk young people. In addition, Youth Connections Providers will be required to offer youth focussed innovative activities for young people with the aim of finding, connecting with and engaging severely disengaged youth.
- Youth Connections service delivery will focus strongly on achieving outcomes for young people. Outcomes will be prioritised towards personal development, connection with and progression through education and relationships with other stakeholders.
What will the Youth Connections Service ?
- assistance to young people at school who are most at risk of disengaging
- flexible and tailored case management to young people who are disengaging or recently disengaged from school or who are severely disengaged
- youth focused activities for young people with the purpose of engaging severely disengaged youth
- strengthening services in their region, including by working with Partnership Brokers and relevant State and Territory services to assist education providers and other organisations to build their own capacity to work with at risk young people.
Youth Connections will comprise four services as outlined in Diagram 1.
